Former Japanese foreign minister Takeshi Iwaya pays visit to Beijing

Former Japanese foreign minister Takeshi Iwaya is leading a delegation to visit Beijing in a bid to improve bilateral ties.

Iwate met with the head of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce Tetsuro Homma to learn about the operating status of their enterprises in China before departing Tokyo.

Kyodo News quoted Iwate as saying amid strained Sino-Japanese relations, it is critical to pursue rapprochement through dialogue, so as to smoothly promote economic exchanges and drive further development.

He notes the delegation expects to have a candid exchange of views with Chinese senior officials.

Iwate currently serves as the new head of Japan's Association for the Promotion of International Trade.

Composed of roughly 50 corporate executives, the delegation deferred its planned June visit to China after the death of then-chairman and former House speaker Yohei Kono.

The acting chairman and former State Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare Gaku Hashimoto along with several others travelled to China in June and are understood to have held talks with Vice Foreign Minister Hua Chunying.

{Former Japanese foreign minister Takeshi Iwaya pays visit to Beijing}

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