A delegation composed of nine senior Japanese lawmakers left for Beijing on Sunday in an attempt to mend ties with China, amid a territorial dispute that has prevented the summit between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The senior Japanese lawmakers, both belonging to the ruling and opposition parties, are scheduled to hold a series of dialogues with Chinese officials, including former Chinese foreign minister Tang Jiaxuan. Former Japanese foreign minister Katsuya Okada is also joining the delegation.

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The delegation, led by former foreign minister and now vice president of Japan's ruling party, Masahiko Komura, left Tokyo on Sunday morning for the three-day visit to China, Japan's broadcaster NHK reported. 

The delegation also hoped to meet the close aides of President Xi in an attempt to, again, arrange a leaders' summit between the Chinese president and the Japanese prime minister.

A summit between the two leaders was reportedly scheduled last year but Chinese authorities were quick to downplay the report.

In December last year, Abe told reporters that he wanted a summit with President Xi in order to reset the relationship of China and Japan. 

Abe said then that a leaders' meeting was important in order to address the different issues that have escalated bilateral tensions. China, however, said there was no scheduled leaders' summit between Abe and Xi and that the two were not even booked for a meeting during the recent Nuclear Security Summit in the Netherlands. Abe, Xi and US President Barack Obama attended the said summit.

From a disputed island to an issue of the Japanese leaders' visit to a controversial war shrine, the relationship between China and Japan has been on shaky grounds, experts said. 

Last year, Japanese companies, carmakers especially, suffered losses in China due to a series of anti the anti-Japan protests in the mainland.

TagsChina-Japan Dispute