Japan Says to Do Utmost for Chinese Premier's Visit

Top officials from Japan's ruling parties said on Sunday that Japan will make utmost efforts for the success of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's upcoming visit to Japan.

　　"Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the Japanese government warmly welcome Wen's visit. We hope to thaw the drift ice in our relations through exchange of visits between the state leader of two countries," said Hidenao Nakagawa, secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

　　Japan expects the two countries can achieve progress on the issue of oil and gas joint exploitation in the East China Sea in this visit, he said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.

　　A delegation from the Japanese ruling parties, headed by Nakagawa and Kazuo Kitagawa, secretary general of the ruling coalition partner New Komeito, arrived in Beijing Thursday evening for a five-day visit to China.

　　Before their departure to Beijing, Abe met with Nakagawa and Kitagawa and told them to create a favorable atmosphere for Wen's visit scheduled for April.

　　This year marks the 35th anniversary of the normalization of China-Japan relations and is also the Year of Cultural and Sports Exchanges between them.

　　Speaking to Xinhua, Nakagawa and Kitagawa said increasing mutual understanding between Japanese and Chinese people, particularly between the young people, is an important basis for sound development of bilateral relations.

　　Nakagawa said he will personally head a large delegation to visit China this year to enhance people-to-people exchanges.

　　Kitagawa also said that Japan will simplify its visa application procedure so as to facilitate Chinese tourists to travel to Japan.

　　There were 810,000 Chinese tourists coming to Japan in 2006 and the number is expected to exceed one million this year.