TOKYO -- Japanese Foreign Ministry welcomed Tuesday a team of 250 Chinese high school students in Tokyo, who will begin their 9-day exchange tour in Japan.

"Exchanges between Japanese and Chinese people, especially those between the juniors who shoulder the future, are very important," Yasuhisa Shiozaki, senior Japanese vice-minister for foreign affairs said at the welcoming ceremony.

Shiozaki said that he hoped the teenage students can know more about Japan and make Japanese friends during their tour in several Japanese prefectures including Yamagata, Akita, Aomori, Kanagawa and Tochigi.

"It is of great significance to promote all kinds of exchanges between the two countries when the bilateral relations are in difficulty," Kong Xuanyou, acting ambassador for Chinese Embassy in Japan said. He expressed his hope that the tour can contribute to enlarging youth exchanges and improving friendship with Japan.

The students, from various parts of China including Beijing, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Shaanxi, Hebei and Hubei, arrived in Japan on Monday, under a high school student exchange program between Japan and China.

According to the program, a total of 1,100 Chinese students will visit Japan, stay with Japanese families and attend exchanging activities with their Japanese counterparts. This group is the second batch of such exchange tours.