Chinese President Jiang Zemin will visit Japan as a state guest from Nov. 25 to 30, the government formally announced Wednesday.
The visit and the itinerary, which will take him to Tokyo, Sendai and Sapporo, were approved at a Cabinet meeting, Foreign Ministry officials said. Jiang will be accompanied by his wife, Wang Yeping, and senior Chinese officials, including Qian Qichen, vice premier of the State Council, Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan and Trade and Economic Cooperation Minister Shi Guangsheng, they said.
Jiang will meet with the Emperor and Empress before holding talks with Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and attending a state dinner. After the Obuchi-Jiang meeting, the two countries are expected to issue a joint declaration to define bilateral relations for the 21st century, the officials said. Japan is expected to express an apology for its 1937-1945 war against China in the declaration.
Jiang will visit Sendai on Nov. 28 and 29 before leaving for Sapporo. In Sendai, he is expected to visit a monument commemorating Lu Xun, a Chinese novelist who studied medicine in the city.