Tokyo Cautiously Seeking Rosier China Ties after Iwaya Trip

Tokyo, Oct. 1 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government plans to cautiously explore ways to improve relations with China, after former Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya met Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and other senior Beijing officials during a recent trip to China.

While some view China's warm reception of Iwaya as a good sign, others see it as an attempt by Beijing to unsettle the government of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Tokyo is set to closely monitor China's next moves.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara declined to discuss the former top diplomat's trip at a press conference Wednesday, saying he would refrain from commenting on each and every move by a private-sector economic organization. Iwaya visited the Asian neighbor as head of Japan's Association for the Promotion of International Trade.

Kihara added that "multilayered communication is important, especially because there are outstanding issues and differences of opinion" between the two countries.

In Beijing, Iwaya met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday and He on Tuesday. Wang told Iwaya that Japan-China relations need to be normalized.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]