Japanese Lawmakers Meet 3rd-Ranking CCP Official; Pandas, Seafood Ban Among Topics of Talks (UPDATE 1)

By Hiroki Takao / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

13:25 JST, April 29, 2025 (updated at 17:30 JST)

BEIJING — A delegation from the Japan-China Parliamentary Friendship Association, a nonpartisan group of Japanese lawmakers, confirmed with the third-ranking official of the Chinese Communist Party the importance of expanding bilateral exchanges between China and Japan, in Beijing on Tuesday.

The delegation met with Zhao Leji, who is also the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress.

During the meeting, LDP Secretary General Hiroshi Moriyama, who chairs the parliamentary group, said, “We would like to show concrete results and make efforts on both sides so that the people of Japan and China can feel happy about the development of Japan-China relations.”

Moriyama called for an early response regarding the resumption of imports of Japanese marine products. In response, Zhao said: “We are well aware of Japan’s high level of interest. There has been positive communication between the sections concerned.”

Moriyama also requested the loan of new pandas in light of the impending deadline for the return of giant pandas kept in the town of Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, and at the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo.

Fourteen lawmakers are participating in the visit to China, which began on Sunday. Members include Moriyama; Banri Kaieda, a Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker, who was a former vice speaker of the House of Representatives; Motohisa Furukawa, acting representative of the Democratic Party for the People; and Kazuo Shii, chairperson of the Central Committee of the Japanese Communist Party.

On Monday, the delegation met with Yang Wanming, president of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, an international exchange organization. At the meeting, Moriyama stressed that “personal exchange and mutual understanding are indispensable for putting Japan-China relations on a positive track.” In response, Yang said that “the visit to China will be of great significance in improving mutual political trust.”

Natsuo Yamaguchi, former chief representative of Komeito, and others also arrived in China on Monday, following the visit of Komeito Chief Representative Tetsuo Saito, who stayed from April 22 to 24. Yamaguchi and others will engage in educational and cultural exchanges between Japan and China until Wednesday.