Michelle Obama is taking daughters Malia and Sasha on a Spring Break trip to Japan and Cambodia in mid-March. Mrs Obama will visit Tokyo and Kyoto, Japan, from March 18-20 and end the trip with a March 21-22 stop in Siem Reap in northwestern Cambodia, the White House said on Tuesday. The White House made no mention of the girls joining their mother, but Japanese newspaper The Asahi Shimbun, quoting a Japanese official, reported last month that the teens will be part of the trip. Michelle Obama and her daughters Malia and Sasha meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan in Beijing in March 2014. The mother and daughters were reportedly returning to Asia for a Spring Break trip this year . President Obama, who was in Japan last April, will not join his wife and daughters. Last March, Mrs Obama, her mother and the girls visited China and have previously taken trips to Ireland and Germany. Malia and Sasha attend the elite DC school, Sidwell Friends, which begins Spring Break on March 20. There were so far no details on the cost of the trip but the First Lady's group spent $222,000 over two days in hotel expenses during the 2014 China visit, the Washington Examiner reported. On Valentine's weekend, the First Lady and her daughters took a weekend skiing trip to Aspen, Colorado while the President jetted to California to golf. According to the Washington Examiner, in a piece published in October 2014, the Obamas' recent vacations left taxpayers with a $6.2 million bill. The total amount billed over the family's six years in the White House has been more than $40 million. The First Lady will be promote educating girls around the world with the visit to Japan, and to Cambodia, a place where the government's record on human rights gave her husband pause during a reluctant visit a couple of years ago. Cambodia is an interesting choice for the First Lady. President Obama became the first U.S. president to visit Cambodia in late 2012 after his re-election. White House officials insisted at the time that Obama was only going because Cambodia was the host for two annual regional summits he has made a point of attending. Obama appeared visibly unhappy during the brief visit. The Cambodian government has been led since 1985 by Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has a reputation for ruthlessness and a low tolerance for opposition. The southeast Asian nation also has problems with child prostitution and human trafficking. The Obamas were announcing the 'Let Girls Learn' education initiative at a White House event on Tuesday. President Obama, pictured with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen in 2012, voiced concerns about Cambodia's human rights record during his trip . The President and First Lady, the parents of two teenage girls, both say their own success would not have been possible without education, and everywhere they travel they encourage young people to finish school. In the U.S., Mrs. Obama also leads a separate initiative encouraging young people to continue their education after high school. More than 60 million girls around the world, half of them adolescents, do not attend school. Lack of education limits their economic opportunities and makes them more vulnerable to such afflictions as HIV and AIDS, early and forced marriage, and gender-based violence, said Tchen, who also directs the White House Council on Women and Girls. Educated girls and their families, meanwhile, are more likely to have a better quality of life. The administration is putting under the 'Let Girls Learn' umbrella a range of programs currently operating largely across Africa and the Middle East that focus on education, empowerment and leadership, health and nutrition, gender-based violence, and early and forced marriage. Separately, the Peace Corps and Mrs. Obama's office will work together to support community-based solutions to these issues. The Peace Corps has thousands of volunteers working in more than 60 developing countries. Its 'Let Girls Learn' program will begin in Albania, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Georgia, Ghana, Moldova, Mongolia, Mozambique, Togo and Uganda, before it is expanded to other countries. A third aspect of the initiative is designed to help kids in the U.S. understand why they should care about the issue. The Peace Corps and the U.S. Agency for International Development are already spending money on these programs. Obama is also asking Congress for $250 million in new and reallocated funding for the initiative, Tchen said. The administration anticipates getting additional support from the private sector, philanthropies, foundations and other donors. In Japan, Mrs. Obama will highlight the importance the two countries place on international girls' education. President Obama traveled to the close U.S. ally on a state visit last April, and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is due to make a reciprocal visit soon. Cambodia is one of 11 countries included in the first year of the 'Let Girls Learn' program to be run by the Peace Corps. In Cambodia, Mrs. Obama will see how community-driven solutions are helping girls, a focus of the Peace Corps piece of the initiative.
Mrs Obama will visit Tokyo and Kyoto in Japan, from March 18-20 and end the trip with a March 21-22 stop in Siem Reap, northwestern Cambodia . The White House made no mention of the girls joining their mother . Japanese newspaper The Asahi Shimbun reported  last month that the teens will be part of the trip . No details revealed on cost of planned five-day trip but First Lady's group spent $222,000 over two days in hotel expenses during 2014 China visit .