Through our giant pandas we have built positive relations
Over the years we have built positive relations with the Chinese Embassy in Japan and the Chinese Consulate General in Osaka, enhancing Sino-Japanese ties. In August 2020, we visited the Chinese Embassy in Japan and spoke with Ambassador Kong Xuanyou about the continuation of the Japan-China joint research on giant panda breeding. In September that year, we also visited the Chinese Consulate General in Osaka and spoke with Consul-General He Zhenliang and Vice Consul-General Zhang Yuping. The Consulate General in Osaka (and the consul general) has been quite friendly towards us, and we had the honor of receiving congratulatory messages from them on our official Twitter account to celebrate the birth of panda cubs in the park. In January 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic began to grow, Wakayama Prefecture sent 50,000 medical gloves to Shandong and Sichuan provinces, along with video messages showing support from our local China-affiliated organizations and schools. To show their appreciation, Shandong sent back 50,000 masks, and Sichuan sent 10,000, further deepening Japan-China relations.
Exchanges Between China and Wakayama Prefecture
| April 1984 | Established friendly relations with Shandong Province | Shandong Province |
| November 2007 | Governor Yoshinobu Nisaka visits China and establishes the Memorandum on the Development of Friendship and Exchange Between Wakayama and Shandong | Shandong Province |
| August 2011 | Governor Yoshinobu Nisaka visits China, traveling to the provinces of Shandong and Liaoning (where he meets with Governor Chen Zhenggao at Shenyang) | Shandong and Liaoning provinces |
| May 2015 | Vice Governor Hiroshi Shimo visits China (traveling to Beijing (along with Toshihiro Nikai [then secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)] and more than 3,000 others) and Shandong Province) | Central government and Shandong Province |
| November 2016 | Governor Yoshinobu Nisaka visits China, meeting with China National Tourism Administration Director Li Jinzao and Shandong Province Governor Guo Shuqing | Central government and Shandong Province |
| August 2017 | Song Tao, Director of the International Department, Central Committee of Communist Party of China (CPC), visits Wakayama Prefecture for the sixth Japan-China Ruling Party Exchange Council meeting and pays visit to Mt. Koya | Central government |
| September 2017 | Deputy Director of Shandong People’s Congress Xia Geng visits Wakayama Prefecture, travels to Mt. Koya, and joins dinner hosted by the governor | Shandong Province |
| November 2017 | Governor Nisaka visits China with the seventh Japan-China Ruling Party Exchange Council meeting, travels to Kaiyuan Temple, which has ties to medieval Buddhist monk Kukai | Central government and Fujian Province |
| April 2018 | Governor Nisaka visits China and exchanges ideas on policies for the elderly with Governor Gong Zheng | Shandong Province |
| December 2018 | Shandong Vice Governor Yu Guoan visits Wakayama Prefecture, speaks with the governor and tours agricultural facilities in the prefecture | Shandong Province |
| March 2019 | Shandong Governor Gong Zheng and party (112 members) visit Wakayama Prefecture to participate in a conference and a celebration commemorating the 35th year of the prefecture-province ties | Shandong Province |
| August 2019 | Officials from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs visit Wakayama Prefecture and tour Shirahama and Mt. Koya | Central government |
| October 2019 | Governor Nisaka visits China for 35th anniversary talks with CPC Shandong Province Committee Secretary Liu Jiayi as well as talks with Sichuan Governor Yin Li | Shandong and Sichuan provinces |
| December 2019 | CPC Shandong Province Committee Secretary Liu Jiayi visits Japan and meets with the chairman of the LDP at LDP headquarters (with governor) | Shandong Province |
| December 2019 | Secretary Chen Xuqing of Tsinghua University visits Wakayama Prefecture, tours the prefecture, and participates in a dinner hosted by then LDP Secretary-General Nikai, along with the governor | Tsinghua University |
| March 2020 | Chinese Embassy in Japan and the government of Dalian, Liaoning Province donate medical equipment (attended by then LDP Secretary-General Nikai and the governor) | Central government and Liaoning Province |
| March 2020 | Memorandum of Mutual Exchange and Promotion with Sichuan Province (via post) | Sichuan Province |
| July 2020 | Governor Nisaka attends a dialogical meeting on Shandong-Japan-China regional industrial exchange | Shandong Province |
| February 2021 | Governor Nisaka attends online talks with Chinese Ambassador Kong Xuanyou | Central government |
| November 2021 | Memorandum signed with Tsinghua University | Tsinghua University |
| January 2022 | Friendly relation agreement signed with Sichuan Province | Sichuan provinces |
| January 2022 | Governor Nisaka attends a dialogical meeting on Shandong 2022 silver industry exchanges and meets with Secretary Li Ganjie | Shandong Province |