A plan by Chinese merchants in Tokyo's Ikebukuro district to band together to promote interaction with their Japanese neighbors is drawing a negative reaction.
About 60 Chinese responded to a call by 46-year-old Hu Yifei and joined the newly established Sokushinkai, a group aimed at developing contacts with their Japanese counterparts in Ikebukuro.
Hu said the group does not intend to set up a concentrated Chinese community like those seen in Yokohama and Kobe. It hopes instead to bring Chinese stores and restaurants in Ikebukuro together to hold such events as Chinese cooking and language classes, and create a Web site to showcase Chinese restaurants.