By Bill Klump | @TheKlumper

From retailers in Tokyo to throngs of students in Beijing, Steve Ballmer had the chance to experience firsthand the excitement for Microsoft’s coming products and services in Asia, speaking to groups in Japan, China, Korea and India during his tour of the region this week.  Ballmer highlighted the opportunities for Microsoft and its partners via the Windows ecosystem and the upcoming launch of Windows 8.

Ballmer told developers: “If there was one profession, just one profession that has the greatest opportunities in the world in the year 2012, that profession is software development.”

“Windows 8 is at the forefront of what we’re doing and I think at the forefront of the ways in which we can create real opportunity for us and for our partners,” he said. “No matter what you do, Windows 8 should unlock for all of us new opportunities.”

See more highlights from Ballmer’s trip in the slide show below.

Steve Ballmer spoke at a Windows Partner Executive Summit, highlighting that Windows 8 is “Windows Reimagined.” Tokyo, May 21, 2012.

Students participating in an Innovation Talk event in Beijing had the chance to check out the latest Windows tablets and PCs and Windows Phones. Beijing, May 23, 2012.