HM King George Tupou V returned to Tonga on the evening of Tuesday February 8.

David Dunkley the King's Private Secretary said on February 10 that the king left Tonga on January 8 on a visit to Hong Kong, Japan China and Australia.

He said during the visit the king had official engagements in which he met the Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko of Japan as well as Crown Prince Naruhito. In China he met Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping in Beijing on January 25.

Princess Pilolevu Tuita who was Princess Regent during the month the king was away departed Tonga on February 8 for the United States where her husband, Lord Tuita, is Tonga's Consul General in San Francisco.