Descendants and representatives of the Japanese participants attending the largest-ever Japan-China youth gathering in 1984 will visit China from June 14 to 20 as part of the two countries' joint efforts to carry on friendship for generations.

 

The 220-member delegation, led by former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, is composed of representatives and the children of participants attending the 1984 gathering, as well as several Japanese dietmen and personnel from friendship organizations.

 

The visit is part of the activities celebrating 2007 China-Japan Culture and Sports Year. During their stay, the Japanese visitors are scheduled to visit Shanghai, Lanzhou and Beijing, and attend a series of forums and gatherings. They will learn about China's development in political, economic, social and cultural fields.

 

In the fall of 1984, 3,000 Japanese young people visited China at the invitation of Hu Yaobang, then general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

 

They had get-together with about one million Chinese youth from all walks of life, and celebrated the 12th anniversary of the normalization of Sino-Japanese relations.

 

It was the largest foreign group China had received since 1949. The event was described as unprecedented in the history of Sino-Japanese friendship.

 

Through the grand event, youth from the two countries knew better about each other and respective countries.

 

(Xinhua News Agency June 13, 2007)