Japan sends senior diplomat to China to mend ties

Japan's Vice Foreign Minister Akitaka Saiki left for Beijing on Monday in an attempt to mend bilateral relations that have strained by the dispute over East China Sea islets. Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshihide Suga, confirmed that Saiki will hold talks with Chinese officials to exchange views on the overall bilateral relationship during his two-day visit to Beijing, but declined to give further details on the meetings. "No schedule has been fixed for a Japan-China leaders' summit, but Japan's door is open for dialogue," Suga told a press conference. It is Saiki's first visit to China since assuming the post last month. Japan and China are at odds in a dispute over the sovereignty of the uninhabited islands in the East China Sea. The Japan-administered Senkaku Islands, known as Diaoyu in China and Tiaoyutai in Taiwan, are claimed by the three countries. The small chain of rocky islands lie in rich fishing grounds and waters thought to contain large deposits of oil and natural gas. Relations between the world's second and third-largest economies have sharply deteriorated since Tokyo's nationalization of three of the five major islands in September 2012 through purchase from a private Japanese owner.