Shotaro Yachi, the key foreign-policy adviser to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and head of Japan's National Security Council, has made a three-day visit to China in order to materialize a meeting between the heads of state of the two powerful Asian nations later this year, reports the South China Morning Post.
In a rare instance, the Japanese envoy has met with State Councillor Yang Jiechi, a top-ranking diplomat from China. The meeting of the two prominent diplomats has come at a time when the relations of the two Asian countries lie in uncertain waters, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Japan and China have been at odds with each other over the Diaoyu, or Senkaku, Islands in the East China Sea. Japan has also played an active role in military exercises with the Philippines, another country in a fierce territorial row with China.
The relations of the two countries have been so tense, China has even accused Japan of "muddying" the waters of the South China Sea with its presence. The Asian economic superpower further accused Japan of using China as a decoy to divert the world's attention from Japan's violent past, as covered in this HNGN article.
If the two diplomats do reach an agreement and bring forth a meeting of the two countries' heads of state. the tensions brewing in the East may very well enjoy a brief reprieve.
