Beginning this year China would send 1,250 senior middle school students to Japan annually. The same number of Japanese students would visit China to gain a better understanding of each other's countries. The Ministry of Education explained the project to China Daily Wednesday.

About 1,100 of the total 1,250 students will stay in Japan for 10 days while others will undertake half-yearly or yearly study programs, said Xue Yanqing, director of the Asian and African Affairs division of the ministry's international co-operation and exchanges department.

"We hope young people from both countries can gain a true understanding of modern China and Japan so that misunderstandings and prejudices brought about by historical matters can be cleared up," he said.

The first group of 200 students to visit Japan will set off in May and are being hosted by the Tokyo-based Japan-China Friendship Center.

Students will visit three or possibly four cities in 10 days and meet local residents in their homes to experience "a day in the life" of an average Japanese person.

The ministry said the 200 students had been chosen from senior high schools nationwide. Students from remote areas received preferential treatment.

As well as the program the Japanese Embassy in Beijing also announced Wednesday that they would provide free TV programs with a value of 35.4 million yen (US$300,000) to China Education TV. The majority of programs would be science and technology documentaries, said the Embassy.

The project comes at a time when Sino-Japanese relations are strained. Beijing has repeatedly pledged to actively promote Sino-Japanese ties in diversified fields.

President Hu Jintao told seven visiting Japan-China friendship organizations in late March that he hoped mutual understanding and friendship between the two sides would improve especially among the young.

Visiting Japanese Vice-Foreign Minister, Kaneda Katsutoshi, held talks with Chinese Vice-Minister of Education, Wu Qidi, Wednesday.

He said in the meeting that besides close economic ties between the two countries, "we should also strengthen cooperation in education and culture."

(China Daily April 13, 2006)