BEIJING, April 3 (UPI) -- Japan's foreign minister arrived in Beijing Saturday to discuss two long-standing disputes with Chinese leaders, the Kyodo news agency reported.
Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi and Chinese leaders were expected to publicly affirm the importance of continued talks over control of a group of islands in the East China Sea and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's repeated visits to the war-related Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo.
The parties also are expected to discuss relations with North Korea.
Kawaguchi indicated she would reiterate Japan's protest over the landing March 24 of seven Chinese activists on one of the Senkaku Islands and again assert Japan's historical claims to the islands.
The uninhabited islands are controlled by Japan, but also are claimed by China and Taiwan.
The episode has worsened bilateral relations, as Japanese police arrested the seven for landing on Uotsurishima Island, one of the five disputed islands, angering China. The seven were later deported.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan said Thursday that while China will renew its claims to the islands in the meeting between Kawaguchi and Li, it will show its readiness to resolve the dispute through dialogue.
