Before his visit, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida expressed that Japan wants to warm its relations with China.

Kishida said he hoped that through frank dialogues, China and Japan would form a new relationship.

He made the comment in a speech at Yomiuri International Economic Society in Tokyo.

The foreign minister also proposed three major expectations for the development of China-Japan relations. He calls on both countries to expand cooperation, address mutual concerns, and enhance mutual trust and understanding between the peoples.

Fumio Kishida is a member of the House of Representatives, and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. He is currently leading a China-friendly faction of the party, called Kouchi Kai.

However, Kishida is also considered an ally of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Abe's changes on Japan's once-pacifist constitution has angered China in recent years.

The foreign minister visited China on other occasions. In November 2014, he met with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi during an APEC meeting of ministerial level in Beijing. And back in 2006, he paid a visit to the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall in eastern China.