Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko offered condolences today to victims of the December 26 tsunamis as they met Malaysia's King Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin and Queen Tuanku Fauziah, the palace said.

"The emperor expressed his condolences, noting Malaysians fell victim" to the tsunami disaster, a spokesman at the Imperial Household Agency said of a 20-minute meeting between the Malaysian and Japanese royals.

The Malaysian king, asked whether the tourism industry had been damaged, said "the impact in Malaysia was smaller" than in neighbouring Thailand and other tsunami-hit nations, the spokesman said.

State guests

The king and queen arrived in Japan on Sunday on a week-long tour, the first Malaysian royals here as state guests in 12 years.

They received a welcome ceremony at the state guesthouse in central Tokyo, joined by the Japanese imperial couple, their eldest son Crown Prince Naruhito and daughter Sayako.

Crown Princess Masako, a former career woman who is suffering from stress adjusting to royal life, was not present.

Close to 273,500 people died in the tsunami tragedy, among them 68 in Malaysia.