Japan's top diplomat Yoshimasa Hayashi will head to China this weekend, the first visit of its kind in over three years, the foreign ministry in Tokyo declared on Friday.

The two days trip, extending from April 1 to 2, will include talks with Hayashi's Chinese counterpart Qin Gang, noting that it will be the first time a Japanese foreign minister has visited China since December 2019, the ministry stated.

Ties between Tokyo and Beijing have been tense in recent years, with Japan seeking to deepen its defense cooperation with the US.

However, Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa and his Chinese counterpart, Qin Gang, agreed to sustain dialogue between the countries "at all levels" and collaborate in many fields during a phone call in February, 2023.

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The big picture

Japan has constantly raised significant worries about the situation around the Diaoyu Islands, China's military activities near Japan, and its cooperation with Russia.

Last January, five Japanese ships were reportedly forced out by Chinese coast guards,  from the waters encircling a cluster of islands in the East China Sea.

At the time, China urged Japan to refrain from illegal action near the islands.

The Diaoyu Islands are the subject of expanded territorial claims from China and Japan. China cites Japanese maps from 1783 and 1785 that show the islands as being in Chinese territory, whereas Japan, which calls them Senkaku Islands, argued that its rule over the islands has been in place since 1895. The Diaoyu Islands came under the rule of the US administration following World War II before being transferred to Japan in 1972.

This is also happening as Tokyo eyes a major arms buildup since World War Two, intensifying tensions with China while increasing its coordination with the West in the Asia Pacific region.