Cross-party Japan-China group sends young delegates to Beijing

Japan-China Friendship Parliamentarians' Union is visiting Beijing from today in a move to maintain dialogue amid strained bilateral ties.

The cross-party group's President Hiroshi Moriyama -- a former secretary-general of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, says the union's younger members will spend three days in the Chinese capital. The delegation is also coordinating a meeting tomorrow with officials from the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.

The visit marks the first time the Japanese supragovernmental body has sent a delegation to China since the two countries' ties soured after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks on Taiwan last November.