COLOMBO, Feb. 10 (Xinhuanet) -- Yasushi Akashi, Japanese peace envoy on Sri Lanka's Norwegian backed peace process with the TamilTiger rebels has arrived in Sri Lanka on a four-day visit, Japanese embassy said on Thursday.

    Akashi, a former UN under secretary general, arrived late Wednesday night and would travel to tsunami-devastated southern and northern coastal lines to assess the damage.

    In addition, Akashi in his main role as the peace envoy is expected to visit the headquarters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels in Kilinochchi in the north.

    This is Akashi's ninth visit to Sri Lanka since his appointmentas the special peace envoy in October 2002.

    The Japanese government has taken keen interest in Sri Lanka's peace process with the rebels and the government entering direct negotiations.

    Tokyo hosted a donor conference to underwrite the internationalbacking to the Norwegian effort which ended in pledges worth 4.5 billion US dollars over a period of four years toward reconstruction and rehabilitation of over two decade old war devastation. Enditem