Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada and his Chinese counterpart Li Shangfu are expected to hold talks on the sidelines of a regional security meeting in Singapore in early June, according to a source close to bilateral relations.
The plan comes as Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and other Group of Seven leaders affirmed the importance of dialogue with China in their summit in Hiroshima through Sunday.
At the planned meeting, the first of its kind since June last year, Hamada is likely to express concerns about repeated intrusions by Chinese coast guard vessels into Japanese territorial waters, and joint naval exercises by Beijing and Moscow conducted around Japan, the source said Monday.