Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi arrived Saturday in Vladivostok, in the Russian Far East, for talks with top officials on enhancing ties between Japan and the region.
The officials she is scheduled to meet include Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Khristenko.
Kawaguchi, who departed from Tokyo's Haneda airport earlier in the day, is scheduled to hold talks with Khristenko on Sunday to exchange views on a route for a planned oil pipeline in eastern Siberia.
Japan and China have been lobbying for separate routes to get better access to Russian oil.