Japan SDF Officers Visit Chinese Military in Exchange Program

Beijing, Nov. 28 (Jiji Press)--A group of middle-ranking officers of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces inspected a Chinese air force facility in Tianjin on Thursday as part of an exchange program between the two Asian neighbors' defense personnel.

Thirteen SDF officers arrived in China on Tuesday. The group visited and spoke with Lt. Gen. Yang Xiaoxiang and other members of the Academy of Military Sciences, a Chinese military think tank in Beijing, on Wednesday.

Maritime SDF Capt. Yoshinari Nagaoka, who led the group, said during the visit to the think tank that he wants to "engage in exchanges that lead to the future."

In the discussions, a Chinese participant asked if there will be any shifts in Japan's policies after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

The SDF members are scheduled to stay in China until Wednesday. They inspected an army unit in Beijing and plan to visit a naval facility in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]