The latest meeting has been between Tang Jiaxuan, head of the China-Japan Friendship Association and Tomiichi Murayama, a former Japanese Prime Minister.

 

　　Tang Jiaxuan, also a former Chinese foreign minister, has told his visitor it's in the two sides' interest to maintain the healthy development of bilateral ties.

 

　　For his part, Murayama says he hopes his visit to China can enhance communication between the two peoples and governments.

 

　　"The relationship between China and Japan doesn't only relate to the two countries, but also affects the peace and stabilization of Asia. I hope our two countries can develop dialogues in more areas including economy,"

 

　　Murayama became the first Japanese prime minister to publicly apologize for Japan wartime past in 1995 as part of a speech marking the 50th anniversary of the end of the war.

 

　　Yang Xiyu with the China Institute of International Studies says Murayama's visit has its unique value and effect.

 

　　"Firstly, Murayama's visit shows that he himself as an influential politician, wishes to stabilize the bilateral relationship. Secondly, his coming out of retirement and visiting China personally signals that his speech will be upheld, and whether Murayama's speech will be upheld or not is a test stone when judging Japanese government's attitude towards the Sino-Japanese relationship and history."

 

　　Tomiichi Murayama is the third high-ranking Japanese politician to visit China in less than a month.

 

　　His trip comes on the heels of a visit by another former Prime Minister, Yukio Hatoyama, along with Natsuo Yamaguchi, who is the leader of Japan's New Komeito Party.

 

　　Yang Xiyu suggests the frequency of the trips here by former and current Japanese politicians can be read as a sign of a certain balance in the politics in Japan right now.

 

　　"Extreme rightism has been making noise in Japan's politics recently, but there also exists pragmatic attitude seeking a stabilizing relation between China and Japan, if it is not advancing bilateral ties. We should watch it closely whether the current strategy can be adopted as Japanese government policy."

 

　　Meanwhile, the chair of the Japan-China Friendship Association, Koichi Kato, is also in Beijing right now.

 

　　He says enhancing friendly ties between the two peoples can help improve the relationship between the two countries.

 

　　For CRI, this is Ding Lulu.