The Japanese and Chinese ministers in charge of disaster management agreed Sunday to explore ways to improve cooperation, as the Asian giants take slow steps towards building better ties.
Japan’s disaster management minister Eriko Yamatani and China’s Civil Affairs Minister Li Liguo -- the first Chinese minister to visit Japan for three years -- also voiced hope of inviting South Korea to three-way ministerial talks on disaster management this year.
They met on the sidelines of a UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in the northern Japanese city of Sendai, which was hit hard by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and killer tsunami in March 2011.
Yamatani thanked China for its help after the natural disaster, which also triggered the ongoing Fukushima nuclear crisis.
In response, Li said he was “highly interested in Japan’s disaster prevention methods”, according to national broadcaster NHK.
Yamatani told Li she wanted to hold a trilateral meeting of disaster management ministers from Japan, China and South Korea later this year.