A delegation of senior Japanese MPs has left for Beijing on a mission to mend ties between the two neighbours amid a territorial dispute, which has prevented a leaders' summit
The bipartisan delegation, led by Masahiko Komura, former foreign minister and vice president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, departed Tokyo's Haneda airport on Sunday morning on the three-day visit, officials said.
The mission consist of nine MPs of both ruling and opposition parties belonging to the Japan-China Friendship Parliamentarians' Union.
During the trip, the parliamentarians are scheduled to hold talks with former Chinese foreign minister Tang Jiaxuan and other Chinese officials, Japan's public broadcaster NHK says.
The delegation members, including former foreign minister also Katsuya Okada, also hope to meet close aides to Chinese President Xi Jinping in an effort to arrange a summit between Xi and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
The two leaders are yet to hold a summit with relations between Tokyo and Beijing falling to their lowest point for years.
Chinese vessels and aircraft regularly approach the East China Sea archipelago - thought to harbour natural resources - after Japan nationalised some of the islands in September 2012, setting off the latest spate of incidents in the long-running dispute.
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