BBC reports that Cao Gangchuan, the vice chairman of Central Military Commission and Minister of National Defense of China, will visit Japan and “meet his newly-installed counterpart, Masahiko Komura, and inspect Japanese Self-Defence Force troops.”
…His visit is the first by a Chinese defence minister in over nine years. It is being seen as a sign of improving Sino-Japanese ties, which were strained under Japan’s former Prime Minister, Junichiro Koizumi.
China had objected to Mr Koizumi’s repeated visits to a controversial war-linked shrine, and high-levels summits were suspended over the issue. But since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office in September 2006, ties have warmed and Mr Cao’s visit is being seen as a chance for further thawing….[Full Text]
[Image via BBC]
