China Japan

A Japanese lawmaker delegation led by Toshihiro Nikai, a veteran politician who is dubbed "a bridge to China" by Japanese media, arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for a three-day visit, seeking to improve strained bilateral ties.

The 85-year-old former LDP secretary general, who has made significant contributions to the promotion of China-Japan friendship, is expected to offer a practical voice toward China before the LDP presidential election next month, Chinese observers said. But they remain cautious toward the "turn right" trend in Japanese political circles and Tokyo's increasingly blatant intention to work with the US to contain China.

Nikai, also chairman of the Japan-China Friendship Parliamentarians' Union, leading a cross-party group of lawmakers, arrived in Beijing on Tuesday, Japanese media outlets reported.

The 10 lawmakers also include Yuko Obuchi, chair of the LDP's election strategy committee, Katsuya Okada, secretary-general of the Constitutional Democratic Party, and Kazuo Kitagawa, vice representative of Komeito Party, Japanese media outlet Jiji Press News reported on Tuesday.

The news report said the Japanese delegation visited Tsinghua University in Beijing, where Nikai expressed his desire for long-lasting friendship with China. Jiji noted that Nikai is set to talk with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday.

Nikai, who has long been involved in exchanges with China, has a unique network of contacts in China. According to Asahi Shimbun, Nikai visited China in 2017 and 2019 as LDP secretary-general and in 2019 he delivered a letter from then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Chinese President Xi Jinping.

In March Nikai said he will not run in the next general election to take responsibility for his intraparty faction's involvement in a political funds scandal, Kyodo News reported.

Nikai's trip to China is a courtesy visit to the old friend as he's gradually pulling himself away from politics, Da Zhigang, director of the Institute of Northeast Asian Studies at Heilongjiang Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

It is expected that young Japanese politicians like Obuchi who are part of this visiting delegation can take over the baton of China-Japan friendship from the older generation, grasp and promote the positive factors in bilateral relations, restrain and control negative factors, and strengthen bilateral exchanges, Da said.

A record high 11 candidates are expected to run in the LDP presidential election on September 27, making the current situation very uncertain, Asahi reported. 

In this context, the delegation's visit to China has at least showed a pragmatic approach toward China ahead of the election and conveyed the message that decoupling with China is unrealistic, Da commented.

This visit is seen as an effort to improve ties, but due to the current "turn right" trend of Tokyo, its effectiveness may be limited, Lü Chao, an expert on the Korean Peninsula at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times, citing recent incidents including Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida sending a ritual offering to the infamous Yasukuni Shrine on August 15, which marked the 79th anniversary of Japan's unconditional surrender in the World War II.

Shen Sheng contributed to this story