"Hanzi" or "Chinese characters" are not only used in China, but also in East and Southeast Asian countries. In Japan, they are known as "Kanji", and are used in the modern Japanese writing system.

For nearly two thousand years, Chinese characters have influenced, and been influenced by, the Japanese language. Now, an exhibition of Chinese characters will soon tour major cities in Japan.

The name of the exhibition was revealed at a press conference in Tokyo: "Chinese Characters: A Legacy and Marvel perfected over three Millennia". It will tour museums in five cities across Japan, including the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum.

A total of 117 groups of items will be showcased, including oracle bones, stone rubbings, bronze wares, bamboo slips, and silk manuscripts from various Chinese dynasties.

For nearly two thousand years, Chinese characters have influenced, and been influenced by, the Japanese language. Now, an exhibition of Chinese characters will soon tour major cities in Japan.

Calligraphy works and paintings from renowned masters will also be on display.

All these exhibits are meant to help Japanese visitors learn about the origin, formation, development, evolution and the dissemination of Chinese Characters.

The exhibition opens on October 18th and will run until September 10th of next year.

Meanwhile, China's Qingdao Publishing Group has purchased a museum dedicated to renowned Japanese author Junichi Watanabe from Japan's Daio Paper corporation. The signing ceremony was held on Tuesday in Tokyo.

Located in Sapporo, the museum opened its doors in 1998. Daio created it to celebrate the recipient of the Naoki Prize, who was a Hokkaido native. Watanabe passed away in 2014.

The paper manufacturer turned the museum into a joint stock company on August 1st, and sold all shares to Qingdao Publishing Group for an undisclosed price.

"It's a good opportunity for us. I believe the museum will play important role in cultural exchanges between China and Japan," said Meng Mingfei, chairman of Qingdao Publishing Group.

The museum drew in 14,000 visitors in 2015, and many of them were from China. Qingdao Publishing Group hopes to expand the museum's operation and attract more visitors in the future.