New Komeito leader Natsuo Yamaguchi arrived in China Tuesday for a four-day visit in a bid to mend bilateral ties strained over control over the Senkaku Islands, hoping to meet China's incoming president, Xi Jinping.

The head of the junior coalition partner of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party is carrying a letter from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and is the first senior lawmaker from the new ruling coalition to travel to China since the current government was formed in late December.

"I'd like to make a step toward opening the door to normalizing relations," Yamaguchi told reporters at Haneda airport in Tokyo before his departure. "I want to pave the way for dialogue."