Recent high-level talks between Takeo Akiba, secretary general of the National Security Secretariat, and China's top diplomat Yang Jiechi were aimed at rebuilding relations between Japan and China, which had lacked momentum for dialogue in the run-up to the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties.
With many issues pending between the two countries, realizing constructive and stable bilateral relations is likely to prove challenging.
The Japanese government had proposed holding a foreign ministerial meeting with China on Aug. 4 on the sidelines of an international conference in Cambodia. Tokyo had hoped the meeting would be "a first step toward laying the groundwork" ahead of the milestone anniversary, according to a Japanese Foreign Ministry source. However, China canceled the meeting following U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan.
