Soka Gakkai International (SGI) Honorary President Daisaku Ikeda calls for improved bilateral relations between China and Japan in his annual peace proposal issued on Thursday.

Ikeda, one of the major figures who contributed to the normalization of Sino-Japanese relations in 1970's, urges in the proposal a renewal of efforts to build friendship between the two Asian neighbors.

This requires serious political efforts rooted in a long-term perspective, said Ikeda. He also stressed that cultural and educational exchanges among people, especially youth and students, could help build bonds that transcend and outlast changes on the political level.

Ikeda has released annual proposals on issues of peace and human security on Jan. 26 each year since 1983, commemorating the founding in 1975 of the SGI, a well-known lay Buddhist association in Japan.

Source: Xinhua