Tokyo: Komeito leader Natsuo Yamaguchi said Tuesday that he will visit Beijing for two days starting Nov. 22, at a time when Japan and China are at odds over the release into the sea of tritium-containing treated water from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan.

The head of the junior party in Japan’s ruling coalition is expected to hold talks with key Chinese Communist Party and government officials and call on the Chinese side to lift its blanket ban on imports of Japanese fishery products imposed in the wake of the water release.

Yamaguchi told a press conference that China now appears to be beginning to focus on dialogue with Japan. “This is a crucial time for both Japan and China to make efforts,” he said.

Before the press conference, Yamaguchi visited Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and asked him to prepare a personal letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping. Kishida readily agreed.

Yamaguchi had initially planned to visit China in August, but postponed the trip after being told by the Chinese side that the timing was not good after Japan started the water release.

JIJI Press