Pope Francis visits Japan after Thailand, bearing anti-nuclear message

Pope Francis shaking hands with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during their meeting with the diplomatic community at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo. - AFP

TOKYO, Nov 23 (Reuters): Pope Francis arrived in Japan, the second leg of a week-long Asian trip whose main aim is to bring an anti-nuclear message to Nagasaki and Hiroshima, the world's only cities to suffer atomic bombing.

Francis, 82, a determined anti-nuclear campaigner who has in the past called for a total ban on nuclear weapons, will read a message on the theme in Nagasaki and also meet survivors.