Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan is considering visiting Hokkaido after attending the Emperor's Sokuirei-Seiden-no-Gi ceremony on Oct. 22, according to multiple Japanese government sources.
The visit is believed to be aimed at promoting regional exchanges between Japan and China, ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Japan next spring.
Wang will arrive in Japan as early as on Oct. 21, and is expected to meet with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The Japanese and Chinese governments are reportedly considering places that the vice president could visit in Hokkaido. According to the sources, Wang is likely to stay in Japan for five days.
When Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited Japan in May last year for the trilateral summit between Japan, China and South Korea, Li visited Hokkaido and inspected a Toyota Motor Hokkaido Inc. plant in Tomakomai. As Hokkaido is a popular travel destination among Chinese tourists, Beijing could be hoping to boost exchanges between China and Japan in the field of tourism.
According to Chinese media reports, when then Chinese Vice Premier Wu Xueqian attended the Sokuirei-Seiden-no-gi ceremony for the now Emperor Emeritus in 1990, he stayed in Japan for four days.
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