Japan Lower House Vice Speaker Banri Kaieda to visit Beijing from July 22; NPC talks planned with aim to resume Japan-China ties

Banri Kaieda, vice speaker of the House of Representatives, will visit Beijing on July 22, it was learned.

According to sources, Kaieda plans to hold talks with senior members of China’s National People’s Congress during the visit, with the aim of establishing a more active dialogue between lawmakers from both Japan and China.

Kaieda will remain in China until July 26. Among the high-ranking officials he will meet is Zhao Leji, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee and third in command of the Chinese Communist Party.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and deteriorating bilateral relations, the Legislative Exchange Committee, composed of representatives from the House of Representatives and the NPC, has not met since January 2020. Kaieda will propose to resume the committee.

Kaieda will be accompanied by members of the Liberal Democratic Party, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the Japanese Communist Party. He also plans to visit Xian in Shaanxi Province.