The 7th Australian delegation under the Australia-Japan Young Political Leaders Exchange visited Japan on October 5–14, 1997. The eight-member group met with leaders of the majority Liberal Democratic Party, including Takashi Kosugi, acting chairman of the LDP Policy Affairs Research Council, as well as representatives of the opposition Social Democratic, New Frontier, Democratic, and Taiyo parties. Experts from diverse sectors briefed the delegation on Japan’s foreign policy in Asia Pacific, the recessionary economy, the shifting balance of power between local and central government, and the emergence of Japanese nonprofit organizations. After meetings in Tokyo, the delegation traveled to Kanazawa, Noto, and Kyoto. In Kanazawa and Noto, Yutaka Kuwabara, a member of the House of Representatives (Democratic Party of Japan) and alumnus of the May 1997 Japanese delegation to Australia, played host. There the delegation met with the vice governor, the mayor, and other local politicians. Executives from Ishikawa Prefecture spoke at a briefing where the challenges of regional development under a tight fiscal policy were addressed. The delegation also visited the Shika Nuclear Power Plant and some other manufacturing facilities of local corporations.