TOKYO (AP): The French prime minister is visiting Japan next month and will make a day trip to a controversial nuclear power plant, officials said Friday.

Prime Minister Francois Fillon is also scheduled to hold talks with Japan's Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda to discuss global and bilateral issues. He will also meet with Emperor Akihito during the April 10-13 visit, the Foreign Ministry said.

Fillon, whose trip marks the 150th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries, has requested a tour of the spent fuel recycling plant in the northern village of Rokkasho, about 600 kilometers (370 miles) north of Tokyo, ministry official Satoshi Ikoma said.

``A visit to the nuclear reprocessing plant, which uses technical assistance by France, would be a main event that highlights cooperation between Japan and France,'' Ikoma said.

The Rokkasho reprocessing plant, which uses the technology of France's state-run nuclear giant Areva, began test operations in March 2006 and is to eventually produce MOX fuel, a uranium-plutonium mixture.

The recycling is a central element of Tokyo's plans to reduce its dependence on energy imports by building so-called fast-breeder reactors, which produce plutonium that can then be reused as fuel.

The Rokkasho plant, operated by Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd. is set to begin full operations in May. It has reported minor accidents during the test run, including workers' exposure to a small amount of radiation and the leakage of chemicals inside the facility.

Resource-poor Japan, which now relies on nuclear plants for a third of its energy needs, aims to raise that to nearly 40 percent by 2010.