China V.P.'s celebrity wife to tour Japan

BEIJING (Kyodo) Peng Liyuan, the celebrity wife of Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, will lead a popular Chinese opera on a two-week tour of Japan in November, according to Chinese media reports.

Peng, a 46-year-old folk singer and a major general in the People's Liberation Army, will lead a 120-member cast from the PLA's song and dance troupe to Tokyo and Sapporo from Nov. 8 to 20 to perform "Poems of Mulan," an opera based on the ancient heroine Hua Mulan, the Beijing Evening News reported.

Peng, a soprano, will not be performing. Instead she will serve as the troupe's artistic director, the report said.

She sang at the gala dinner Oct. 1 celebrating the 60th anniversary of the founding of Communist China.

Before Xi became widely seen as the successor to President Hu Jintao in 2012, Chinese had been more familiar with Peng. With Beijing and Tokyo seeking closer ties, a visit by the high-profile spouse of China's likely next leader will be viewed as more than a mere cultural exchange. Xi is expected to visit Japan in November or December.

Peng's celebrity and fame is unusual in Chinese political circles, where spouses and family members of top party leaders traditionally keep out of the spotlight.