Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will seek out Chinese President Xi Jinping this week during an international conference in Indonesia, a government source said Saturday.
Abe and Xi are scheduled to attend the Asian-African Summit starting Wednesday in Jakarta, alongside other regional leaders. The source suggested it might be possible for Abe and Xi to hold talks on the sidelines of the summit providing China agrees, although this may only take the form of a brief conversation.
Tokyo and Beijing have been expanding dialogue despite strained relations over territory and perceptions of wartime history. Abe and Xi met for the first time last November in Beijing.
Yet Chinese coast guard vessels continue to intrude into Japanese territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. China, which claims the islets as Diaoyu, was enraged by Japan's purchase of a major part of the chain from a private owner in September 2012. Taiwan also claims the islets, which it refers to as Tiaoyutai.
Beijing has meanwhile maintained it is awaiting a statement by Abe this summer to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.
Differences between the two countries have further been highlighted by Tokyo distancing itself from a planned Chinese-led development bank that could end up rivaling existing institutions led by Japan and the United States.
Over 50 countries, ranging from developing economies to major European Union member states, have applied for membership in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, but Tokyo and Washington remain cautious about whether the institution could ensure fair governance and debt sustainability.