Japan Biz Delegation Postpones Beijing Visit

Tokyo, Dec. 31 (Jiji Press)–A Japanese business delegation will postpone a planned visit to Beijing, the Japan-China Economic Association said Wednesday. Representatives from the association, the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, and the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry were scheduled to visit Beijing for four days from Jan. 20, 2026. The association believes that it would be difficult to carry out the visit as Japan-China relations have deteriorated following remarks made by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in November 2025 on a possible Taiwan contingency. It would be the first postponement of such a visit since 2012, when bilateral relations were strained over the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture, southernmost Japan, which were claimed by China. The Japanese side had been coordinating plans for Kosei Shindo, head of the association, Keidanren Chairman Yoshinobu Tsutsui and JCCI head Ken Kobayashi to hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. “In a situation where it is difficult to have sufficient exchanges with Chinese government agencies, including meetings with national leaders, we judged that sending the delegation would not produce meaningful results,” the association said. Since 1975, Japanese business leaders have visited China once a year, except during the COVID-19 pandemic. A visit to China scheduled for September 2012 was held in March 2013 after being postponed due to the Japanese government’s nationalization of the Senkaku Islands. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]