Japan, China eye 'crisis' plan to avoid sea disputes

Japan's foreign minister will on Wednesday meet Chinese leaders to discuss setting up a "crisis" mechanism that will aim to avoid conflict over disputed waters, a Japanese embassy official said. China and Japan have often had strained relations, particularly over claims to East China Sea gas fields and disputed islands known as the Senkaku in Japanese and the Diaoyu in Chinese. Koichiro Gemba -- on a one-day visit to Beijing -- will meet his counterpart Yang Jiechi and Premier Wen Jiabao in talks that will also lay the ground for a visit by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's to China later this year. (mysinchew.com)