The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) of Japan Tuesday dismissed remarks by the Japanese envoy to China that said the Diaoyu Islands disputes should be left to the next generation.

Shigeru Ishiba, the LDP secretary-general, told the press the Diaoyu Islands are Japanese territory, and there is no reason to "postpone" disputes.

"Although (former Chinese leader) Deng Xiaoping proposed to 'postpone' (the disputes), the Japanese government has never officially agreed. The government and the LDP have never changed their stance," he said.

Deng suggested shelving the disputes and pursuing joint exploitation of resources around the Diaoyu Islands areas. But the Japanese government continues to deny the existence of any territorial disputes.

Natsuo Yamaguchi, head of the New Komeito party, arrived Tuesday in Beijing in a four-day visit aimed at passing on goodwill from Shinzo Abe, the LDP leader and new Japanese prime minister.

Yamaguchi told the media on Monday in Japan that he is trying to arrange a meeting with Xi Jinping, the new leader of the Communist Party of China, and to pass Xi a letter from Abe. No information has been disclosed about the content of the letter.

To avoid the situation over the Diaoyu Islands from running out of control, it is better to shelve the dispute and leave it to the next generation, Yamaguchi said.

"I'd like to make a step toward opening the door to normalizing relations," Yamaguchi told reporters in Tokyo before his departure.

The Chinese government has not confirmed whether Xi will meet Yamaguchi, though the China News Service reported that the Japanese politician will meet Tang Jiaxuan, president of the China-Japan Friendship Association and former State councilor.

Yamaguchi is the first senior member of the Japanese ruling bloc to travel to Beijing since the Japanese government announced that it would "purchase" part of the Diaoyu Islands in September, a move that contributed to the disintegration of bilateral relations.

Hong said the exchanges between China and Japan can "enhance bilateral communication, properly promote solutions for related issues and boost the development of bilateral relations."

Global Times - agencies