OSAKA -- Osaka business and government leaders voiced concern Monday about relations with China in the immediate future due to the uproar over a September orgy involving visiting employees of an Osaka-based firm and Beijing's demand that three of them who allegedly organized the prostitution spree be handed over.
Senior officials of the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry plan to visit Shanghai from Jan. 8 through 12 to discuss mutual investment opportunities.
But some are questioning the timing of the trip, given that last week Chinese prosecutors submitted arrest warrants via Interpol for three employees of Kooki Corp., the Osaka firm allegedly involved in the September orgy. Chinese media have identified the three as Isao Hirobe, Shunji Takahashi and Koji Fukunaga.