(AP)
Updated: 2007-08-11 18:07

TOKYO _ China's defense minister is set to visit Japan later this month, a news report said Saturday, the first such visit in nine years.

The two countries are arranging a five-day official visit by Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan to Japan starting August 29, the Mainichi newspaper reported, citing unidentified officials.

The trip, a sign of thawing relations between the regional powers, would be the first to Japan by China's top defense official since former defense chief Chi Haotian visited Tokyo in February 1998.

Cao and his Japanese counterpart, the newly installed Yuriko Koike, are expected to discuss reciprocal naval port calls and bolstering communication between the countries' militaries, the Mainichi said.

Cao will also inspect Japan's Self-Defense Forces and tour the ancient capital of Kyoto, the report said. Officials at the Defense Ministry were not immediately available for comment.

Tokyo's relations with Beijing have improved under Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who traveled to China immediately after taking office last year in a bid to reverse a steep decline in ties during the term of his predecessor, Junichiro Koizumi.

China is a top trading partner of Japan, but mutual distrust lingers over Japan's handling of its World War II history and China's rapid military expansion.