Mayor of London Boris Johnson is leading a trade mission to Japan, one of the world’s most important global economies, to share tips for hosting big events.

The visit is part of the Mayor's initiative to strengthen ties with world cities, such as Tokyo, and promote London to the world.

Over the course of three days, October 13-15, Boris will meet senior Japanese politicians, business leaders and investors, to promote life sciences, tech and innovation and champion London's big brand retail exports.

As Japan gears up to host the Rugby World Cup in 2019, and the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2020, the west London MP will also share London's expertise in hosting major world sporting events.

Mr Johnson said: “Japan is one of the world’s most important economic powerhouses with enormous potential for stronger partnerships with the capital.

“We have plenty of knowledge and expertise to share across many important sectors, including hosting major world sporting events.

“This is our chance to loudly bang the drum for London, strengthen our ties with Japan, and secure the long-standing relationships we need to create an abundance of opportunities for Londoners and the people of Japan to work more closely and collaboratively in the future."

In recent years, London has hosted many major global sports events including the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, which has already left a lasting legacy of sports participation.

The 2015 Rugby World Cup is well under way, with record match attendances and, in 2017, the capital will host the World Athletics Championships and the International Paralympic Committee Athletics World Championships, held in parallel for the very first time.

With a population of more than 13m, Tokyo is the largest metropolitan economy in the world.

Alongside London and New York, it is one of the world’s three economic command centres.

The Mayor is spending time in Osaka, Japan’s second metropolis, with a population of almost 3m.

He will help champion some of London’s greatest export brands from food to fashion, and British brands at Hankyu, Osaka’s own equivalent to Selfridges.