A Japanese delegation of the ruling- camp parliamentarians headed on Sunday for China's quake-hit areas to convey relief supplies as well as sympathy and support from the Japanese people to those affected in the disaster.

With support and assistance from various circles in Japan, the 31-ton relief supplies, including the most wanted tents, have been collected, said Toshihiro Nikai, chairman of the LDP general council, at the Haneda airport prior to departure.

The chief mission of the delegation is to send the relief supplies as well as to relay sympathy and heart-felt support from the Japanese people, said Nikai, who headed the deputation of 15 parliamentarians from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and New Komeito.

Chinese Ambassador to Japan Cui Tiankai said that the relief mission of the Japanese parliamentarians represents the lofty spirit of humanism as well as the friendly feelings the Japanese people bear towards the Chinese people.

It is also an embodiment of the consensus reached by the leaders of the two nations during Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to Japan in early May, said Cui, who came to bid farewell to the delegation.

The delegation is scheduled to arrive in Chengdu, capital of China's quake-hit Sichuan Province, at midday Sunday and return to Japan after accomplishing their mission later in the day.

The relief supplies were mainly provided by Japan's business communities through Nippon Keidanren and the Japan Red Cross Society. And All Nippon Airways offered a free chartered flight for the relief mission.

(Xinhua News Agency June 8, 2008)