Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda yesterday voiced hope for progress in a nagging dispute with China over lucrative gas fields as he set off on a visit marking a return to normal dialogue between the Asian powers.
Fukuda, who has sought better relations with Beijing throughout his career, will spend four days in China for top-level talks and public diplomacy and offer help for the fast-rising economy to cope with worsening pollution.
Asia's two largest economies last year launched a reconciliation drive but are still sharply divided over the gas fields in the energy-rich East China Sea. Japan and China missed a target to resolve the row this year.
But Fukuda was optimistic on resolving the longstanding row.
"We could come to an agreement if talks go well," Fukuda told reporters before his departure. "We should solve this as swiftly as possible."
The Asahi Shimbun reported yesterday that the two countries held secret talks on the gas dispute ahead of Fukuda's visit.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi (王毅), a former ambassador to Tokyo, visited Japan last week and made a new proposal for joint development, the Asahi said.
The government declined to comment on the report. But a senior foreign ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Japan sought "to agree not only on a general principle but on something specific" during the talks.
Eleven rounds of negotiations have yielded little, with China rejecting the maritime border which Japan considers a starting point for discussions. But China is seen as wanting progress before President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) pays a landmark trip to Tokyo in the spring.
Fukuda's trip is the first by a Japanese prime minister since October last year, when his predecessor Shinzo Abe broke a freeze by heading to Beijing within days of taking office.
"The relationship with China has finally come to the point that we can talk in a normal atmosphere," a Japanese foreign ministry official said of Fukuda's summit with Chinese counterparts.
Business leaders in Tokyo have also pushed hard for better relations with China.
Fukuda's trip will be heavy on goodwill gestures, including a visit to a school and a tour of Qufu, the birthplace of Confucius.
Fukuda, who will host the G8 industrial nations next year, said he would also offer China help in fighting global warming. Other issues on the agenda include North Korea and Taiwan.
Also see: Japan faces up to a China dilemma
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