Japan lawmakers call on China to ease food import restrictions

BEIJING, May 4 Kyodo - A group of Japanese parliamentarians called on Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping on Wednesday to help Japan's reconstruction from the March disasters by easing restrictions on Japanese food imports and increasing the number of Chinese tourists visiting the country, the delegation head said.
Former Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura told reporters he asked China to deal with the fear of food contamination by radiation from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant ''in a scientific and level-headed manner.''
Komura, a veteran of the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party, met with Xi as head of the nonpartisan friendship parliamentary league between the two countries.
Xi was quoted as saying China has been looking into the matter scientifically and will closely communicate with the Japanese side.
Komura also asked Xi to have more Chinese tourists visit Japan as the northeastern and eastern regions have struggled to reconstruct themselves from devastation by the massive earthquake and tsunami.