| Japan's upper house speaker to visit China next month |
TOKYO, Sept 21 (AP) -- The Upper House speaker of Japan's parliament is set to visit China next month in a sign of improving ties between the two Asian neighbors, parliamentary officials said Thursday.
Chikage Ogi, speaker of the less powerful upper house, is scheduled to visit China on Oct. 15-17 for talks with Chinese leaders, a house official said on condition of anonymity, citing protocol.
Possible talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao are currently being arranged, the official said. Other details of the visit, including the choice of three other upper house members to accompany Ogi, have not been finalized, he said.
The visit, at the invitation of China's National People's Congress, is aimed at discussing a plan to launch regular bilateral parliamentary exchanges, the official said.
Japan-China relations have deteriorated over Japanese leaders' visits to the Tokyo war shrine, which honors Japanese war dead, including convicted war criminals. Beijing has refused to hold bilateral summits with Japan.
The upper house official said it was too early to say whether China's invitation for Ogi's visit can be interpreted as a sign of reconciliation.
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