By Hiroshi Tajima

TIANJIN — Komeito leader Natsuo Yamaguchi met with Li Hongzhong, a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of China and Communist Party Secretary of Tianjin, in the Chinese city of Tianjin on Aug. 21. Yamaguchi and the head of Tianjin City agreed on the importance of promoting cultural and regional exchanges between the two countries ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s planned visit to Japan next spring. Before the meeting, Yamaguchi presented the city a painting depicting a meeting between Soka Gakkai’s leader Daisaku Ikeda and then-Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai, which took place when Ikeda visited China in 1974.