China is wary that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's decision to call a snap election may lead to policy changes that would affect bilateral relations, amid tentative signs of thawing ties between the two countries.
Abe's political gamble to dissolve the Lower House, with two more years remaining in the chamber's term, has been widely regarded as a surprise in China.
His announcement Tuesday on the dissolution of the House of Representatives came about a week after he held talks for the first time with Chinese President Xi Jinping following more than two years of heightened tension over the ownership of the Senkaku Islands and wartime historical issues.