In his latest effort to advance the prefecture’s own regional diplomacy, Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki embarked on a five-day trip to China on Monday as part of a delegation seeking to strengthen economic and cultural ties between Japan and China.
In his first visit to Beijing in four years, Tamaki is slated to meet with prominent members of China’s ministry of commerce and visit cultural institutions and the headquarters of Chinese companies, including state-owned investment enterprise CITIC.
On Thursday, he will then head to the southeastern Fujian province, which is situated opposite Taiwan and has had a friendship agreement with Okinawa since 1997. Tamaki will return to Naha on Friday.