Chinese Vice President Han Zheng and former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda met Wednesday in Beijing and agreed on the need to promote bilateral cultural exchanges, Fukuda told Kyodo News.
The former Japanese leader said he proposed to Han that the two countries enhance such exchanges to forge closer bonds and "deepen mutual understanding" in these times of strained relations.
Fukuda said he did not touch on such contentious issues as the release of treated radioactive wastewater from Japan's disaster-damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant despite Chinese objections and China's arrest of a Japanese businessman over espionage allegations.
Fukuda attended a reception Monday in Beijing commemorating the 45th anniversary of a bilateral peace and friendship treaty after joining a forum of experts on Sino-Japanese relations held in the Chinese capital last week.
