Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya is coordinating a visit to China within this year at the earliest to meet with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, Japanese government sources said Sunday.
It would be Iwaya's first China visit since he took office in October, and he would be the first top Japanese diplomat to visit the Asian neighbor since Yoshimasa Hayashi, currently chief Cabinet secretary, did so in April 2023.
At their envisioned meeting, Iwaya and Wang are expected to reaffirm their countries' stance of promoting a mutually beneficial strategic relationship and developing constructive and stable bilateral relations.
Meanwhile, Iwaya is expected to urge the Chinese side to swiftly implement a bilateral agreement reached in September to resume imports of Japanese fishery products, while expressing concern over China's hegemonic moves in the East China Sea and the South China Sea.
On Nov. 15, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a bilateral summit in Peru and agreed to conduct mutual visits at the summit and other levels.
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