A cross-party delegation of Japanese lawmakers arrived in Beijing on Monday for talks with Chinese Communist Party officials, marking the first such visit since bilateral relations deteriorated over Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's comments on Taiwan.
The three-member group — comprising Gaku Hashimoto of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, along with lawmakers from opposition parties Komeito and the Centrist Reform Alliance — is scheduled to meet with the CCP's International Liaison Department and inspect advances in robotics and autonomous driving, including a stop at the Xiong'an New Area in Hebei province. The visit runs through Thursday.
Ties between Tokyo and Beijing have been under strain since late 2025, when Takaichi suggested Japanese forces could intervene in a Taiwan conflict. China lodged a formal protest on 15 August after several Japanese ministers, including Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, visited the Yasukuni Shrine.