August 30, 2007	Thursday	Sha'aban 16, 1428

TOKYO, Aug 29: China’s defence minister on Wednesday started the first such visit to Japan in more than nine years as the Asian giants work to repair their rocky relations.

Defence affairs have been a key impediment in relations between the two countries, with Japan repeatedly joining the United States in voicing concern about China’s rapidly growing military budget.

Cao Gangchuan flew in to Tokyo for a two-day visit in which he will meet with his counterpart Masahiko Komura, who took office on Monday in a cabinet reshuffle by embattled Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, officials said.

The general’s visit to Japan was the first by a Chinese defence minister since Feburary 1998 before relations between Tokyo and Beijing turned icy under former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi.

Abe has tried to mend strained ties. He made a fence-mending visit to China immediately after taking office last September.

—AFP