In a sign of Tokyo's push to improve ties with Beijing, Japan plans to invite Chinese Premier Li Keqiang for a formal visit coinciding with a trilateral summit with South Korea in May, government sources said.
However, the invitation to South Korean President Moon Jae-in for the summit will likely be unofficial, possibly reflecting the chill in bilateral relations caused by renewed friction over the "comfort women," Japan's euphemism for the girls and women forced to provide sex for Imperial Japanese troops before and during World War II.
Japan has suggested to China and South Korea that the long-delayed trilateral summit take place in May, the sources said Friday. As years of tension between Japan and China begin to thaw, inviting Li for a formal visit is viewed as a step toward getting Chinese President Xi Jinping to eventually make a state visit. The last Chinese leader to make an official visit to Japan was then-Premier Wen Jiabao in May 2010.