The leader of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s coalition partner party is seeking to visit China by year-end, after abandoning a planned trip last month as friction worsened with his country’s biggest trading partner.
Natsuo Yamaguchi, leader of the Buddhist-backed Komeito party, said in an interview in Tokyo on Tuesday that he wanted to visit "as soon as possible" this year, which marks the 45th anniversary of the peace and friendship treaty that enabled Sino-Japanese ties to thrive.
"Cooperating and fulfilling our responsibilities and roles will lead to stability and development for the international community,” Yamaguchi said of efforts to mend ties between the world’s second— and third-largest economies.