ACCRA, Ghana - Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan on Sunday began a three-day official visit to Ghana at the head of a 30-strong delegation.

He was welcomed at Kotoka international airport by Vice President John Dramani Mahama to traditional Ashanti drumming and dance, an AFP reporter saw.

The visit is at the invitation of Ghana and is aimed at boosting ties between the two countries, officials said.

The prince is expected to hold talks with President John Atta-Mills on Monday at the presidential palace, known as the Castle, a former slave trade post in the seaside capital Accra.

Part of his schedule includes a visit to a mausoleum where the remains of Ghana's first president Kwame Nkrumah lie.

He will also tour Sea International School on the outskirts of the capital, the only school teaching Japanese in Ghana.

He is also set to attend a conference in honor of Hideyo Noguchi, a Japanese doctor who died in Accra in 1928 while researching into yellow fever.

His trip continues on Wednesday when he will travel on to Kenya.