A Japanese minister is expected to make an official visit to China for the first time since Sino-Japanese relations cooled following remarks by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi hinting at intervention in the event of a Taiwan contingency.

According to NHK and other sources on the 12th, Hitoshi Kikawa, Japan's minister in charge of child policy, announced that he is coordinating his attendance at the APEC Senior Officials' Meeting in Shanghai, China, on the 15th.

If Minister Kikawa's visit to China materializes, he will be the first Japanese minister to officially visit China since Prime Minister Takaichi's remarks in November last year suggesting intervention in a Taiwan contingency.

China, the chair of the APEC Summit to be held in Shenzhen in November, is hosting a "Women and Economy Forum" meeting in Shanghai as one of the preparatory meetings for the summit.

Minister Kikawa, who is in charge of Japan's gender equality policies, said, "This will be an opportunity to introduce Japan's policies on women's economic participation to APEC member economies and discuss various regional challenges."

Panoramic view of Shanghai where the APEC Senior Officials' Meeting will be held [Screenshot from APEC website]

Recently, the Japanese government has shown a series of moves to dispatch ministers to China using APEC meetings as an opportunity.

Kyodo News reported at the end of last month that Ryosei Akazawa, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, is coordinating his attendance at the APEC Ministerial Meeting on Trade to be held in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China, on the 20th of this month.

Kyodo anticipated that at this meeting, current issues such as China's export restrictions on strategic minerals like rare earth elements, implemented after Prime Minister Takaichi's remarks hinting at intervention in a Taiwan contingency, could also be discussed.