Defense Minister Gen Nakatani will hold talks with the commander of the U.S. forces in the Pacific, Adm. Harry Harris, this month in Hawaii to discuss China's military presence in the South China Sea, a government source said.
The U.S. late last month sent a warship within 12 miles of an artificial island recently created by China atop a reef in the disputed Spratly Islands. China claims that by doing so, the U.S. destroyer intruded into its territorial waters.
Nakatani will likely convey Tokyo's support for Washington's naval activities in the South China Sea, the source said Monday.
Nakatani and Harris may also discuss the content of the meeting last week in Beijing between Harris and Gen Fang Fenghui, chief of the General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, according to the source.
The Nakatani-Harris meeting takes place amid growing speculation in Japan that Washington may ask Tokyo to consider dispatching Maritime Self-Defense Force vessels to participate in joint patrols with U.S. warships in the South China Sea.
Nakatani plans to head to Hawaii after a "two-plus-two" meeting of the defense and foreign ministers of Japan and Australia on Nov. 22 in Australia, the source said.