Four prefectural governments will jointly hire a Chinese consultant who will help their local firms do business in China, officials said Thursday.

A joint study panel set up by the Iwate, Miyagi, Wakayama and Fukuoka prefectural governments will examine corporate needs in order to identify what kind of support and information is necessary, they said.

The 44-year-old consultant, a Japanese-speaking resident of Shanghai, will visit each prefecture and hold seminars, they said.

The consultant is based in the Shanghai office of the Fukuoka Prefectural Government.