Osaka, Oct. 23 (Jiji Press)–A delegation of business leaders from the Kansai western Japan region will visit Beijing from Dec. 20 to 22 to meet with senior Chinese government officials, organizers have said. The visit is aimed at paving the way for strengthening economic ties with China at a time when relations between the two countries remain strained following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks in November 2025 about a potential contingency involving Taiwan. The delegation will be jointly led by Masayoshi Matsumoto, chairman of the Kansai Economic Federation, who is also chairman of Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd., and Shingo Torii, chairman of the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry and vice chairman of Suntory Holdings Ltd, the organizers said Thursday. Several dozen people from six organizations–the Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe chambers of commerce and industry, the Kansai Economic Federation, the Kansai Association of Corporate Executives and the Japan-China Economic Relations and Trade Center–are expected to take part in the trip. The trip was initially scheduled for October but was postponed because arrangements could not be finalized. The Kansai business community has sent delegations to China eight times since 1971. The upcoming visit will be the first since 2024. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
