Senior officials urge calm over islands dispute

Feng Wei, an expert on Japanese studies at Fudan University in Shanghai, said Yamaguchi's trip, seen in the light of Abe's overall plan to break the ice, will not end in vain. Feng was optimistic about the possibility of good results.

Bilateral trade and public diplomacy were badly affected after the Japanese government in September illegally "purchased" part of the Diaoyu Islands. The hawkish Abe has heard increasingly tough voices blast his hard-line policies toward China, as leading Japanese entrepreneurs have become greatly concerned about Japan's slumping share of the Chinese economy and trade, said Zhang Lili, a professor of Japanese studies at China Foreign Affairs University.

Seven leading Japanese travel agencies suffered an average monthly drop of more than 70 percent in the number of Japanese visitors to China in the last three months of 2012, Japan's NHK Television reported on Thursday.

"After a period of tough policies that have not made a major difference, Abe felt obliged to make some changes. He sent a written letter to Beijing through his envoy and also made it known that he would be available for a bilateral summit," Zhang said.

Xinhua contributed to this story.

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China-Japan Dispute over Diaoyu Islands