Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-Lung's latest trip to Japan has put a damper on Sino-Japanese ties, with Beijing canceling at the last minute a bilateral meeting of agriculture ministers.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi avoided going into detail during a news conference Friday, stating only: "We understand that (the ministerial meeting) was not held due to scheduling conflicts of both sides."

Chinese agriculture minister Han Jun was set to visit Japan to hold a meeting with his Japanese counterpart, Shinjiro Koizumi, on Tuesday, after a trilateral agriculture ministers' meeting involving the two nations plus South Korea held in Incheon near South Korea's capital, Seoul, on Monday.