On March 11, 2010, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama met at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo with the chief Chinese member of the 21st Century Committee for China-Japan Friendship Tang Jiaxuan, also an honorary advisor to the China-Japan Friendship Association.

Hailing the sound development of Japan-China relations, Hatoyama expressed hope that the two countries will make joint efforts and look into the future to continuously enhance Japan-China strategic reciprocal relations. He hoped that both sides will increase high-level exchanges, deepen pragmatic cooperation and enhance youth exchanges and other people-to-people contacts so as to carry forward the friendship between China and Japan from generation to generation. He also hoped that the China-Japan Friendship Association and the 21st Century Committee for China-Japan Friendship will make important contributions to this end.

Tang said that currently China-Japan relations are facing rare opportunities for development. He hoped both sides will seize the favorable opportunity, have in mind the new situation of the profound changes and adjustments of the international and regional pattern and push bilateral strategic reciprocal relations for new development. Both sides should continuously build up political trust through high-level exchanges and create new cooperation highlights with an aim to realize sustainable development. Tang also urged both sides to bring into play the traditional advantages of bilateral friendly exchanges, persevere in humanities contacts and take the Shanghai World Expo as an opportunity to set off a new upsurge in the people-to-people exchanges. Both sides should enhance cooperation in regional and international affairs and jointly commit to coping with various global challenges so as to bring benefits to the people of the two countries and the world. The Chinese and Japanese members of the China-Japan Friendship Association and the fifth 21st Century Committee for China-Japan Friendship will make positive efforts for pushing forward China-Japan relations and never let down the great trust of the two governments and peoples.

Tang Jiaxuan started his goodwill visit to Japan on March 10 at the invitation of the seven Japan-China friendship groups. On the evening of the same day, Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada also met with Tang.