Tokyo's special peace envoy Yasushi Akashi was to hold talks with President Mahinda Rajapakse and would also try to meet leaders of the Tamil Tigers during his four-day visit, the Japanese embassy said.
Despite a four-year ceasefire, more than 200 people have died over the last month in tit-for-tat attacks by government and rebel forces from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who are fighting for a Tamil minority homeland.
"The escalation of violence that's occurring now is completely out of control," Helen Olafsdottir, spokeswoman for the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission that oversees a four-year-old truce, told AFP.
"There's anarchy on the ground.
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Saturday saw a rare lull in the attacks.
The only casualty was a soldier wounded when suspected Tamil Tiger gunmen opened fire as he guarded a Tamil newspaper office, the defence ministry said.
The pro-rebel newspaper had been provided with armed guards after unidentified gunmen killed two employees four days earlier.
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