630 members of Japan's ruling party headed to China this week

Posted By Joshua Keating Wednesday, December 9, 2009 - 1:34 PM Share

The Democratic Party of Japan apparently doesn't travel light. Mainichi Shimbun reports:

Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) Secretary-General Ichiro Ozawa won't be lonely when he heads to China and South Korea on Thursday, as he's taking an entourage of about 630 people with him.

The group, including DPJ supporters and 143 fellow DPJ Diet members, will accompany Ozawa while he's in China to meet with President Hu Jintao. Ozawa will continue on to South Korea alone for a dinner meeting with President Lee Myung-bak on Friday, but overall the trip looks to solidify the impression of Japan's regime change both in and outside the country, as well as emphasize Ozawa's political power.

143 Diet members is about a third of the party's entire delegation. Imagine 100 Democratic members of congress all going on one foreign trip. Ozawa apparently also hopes to discuss an exchange program between the DPJ and the Chinese Communist Party during the visit.

The DPJ came into power promising a closer relationship with China and a Japanese foreign policy that was more oriented toward the country's Asian neighbors. Ozawa's mega-junket certainly seems like a pretty big statement to that end.

TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP/Getty Images

EXPLORE:EAST ASIA, CHINA, JAPAN

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GRANT

7:58 AM ET

December 10, 2009

Maybe the party's trying to

Maybe the party's trying to avoid doing something at home.

THENAYR

4:32 PM ET

January 7, 2010

RE:

Very true. Interesting thought.

Las Vegas Escorts

ALEXLOBSTERS

12:03 PM ET

January 6, 2010

I must admit, great

I must admit, great news!
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