Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi is considering visiting China later this month, diplomatic sources said Wednesday, as the two nations look for ways to stabilize bilateral ties that have often been strained over issues including a territorial row.
It would be the first visit to China by a Japanese foreign minister in three years. The plan follows the first in-person meeting between Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese leader Xi Jinping last month in Bangkok, where the two leaders agreed to arrange Hayashi's trip to China.
During his stay in China, Hayashi is expected to explain Japan's key defense policy documents, including the National Security Strategy, scheduled to be updated this week in an apparent counter to Beijing's military buildup in the Asia-Pacific region, the sources said.