Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang

Tokyo: Japan's Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, on Sunday, held a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang and called for the release of the recent Japanese businessman detention, The Japan Times reported.

While addressing the reporters following the meeting, Hayashi said that he sought consular access to the Japanese citizen and urged China to provide transparency in the judicial process.

The meeting was held over the detention of the Japanese businessman, who was arrested in China last month. He is a senior employee of the Japanese pharmaceutical firm Astellas Pharma.

Hayashi added that he and Qin had agreed to maintain close communication "at all levels" to improve ties, including between leaders and foreign ministers.

In the last three-hour conversation with Qin, the Japanese minister said that despite "many challenges," it is becoming "increasingly important" that Japan and China aim for "constructive and stable" bilateral relations agreed upon by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese leader Xi Jinping during their summit talks last November, according to The Japan Times.

Qin noted that this year marks the 45th anniversary of the signing of the 1978 bilateral Peace and Friendship Treaty and that "right choices" must be made to honour the spirit of the pact.

He vowed to work with Hayashi to promote further exchanges and dialogue so that the two countries can "move ahead by removing obstacles".

Notably, this is for the first time that a Japanese foreign minister travel to China since December 2019.

Hayashi met with Premier Li Qiang, who assumed the premiership last month. He was also scheduled to hold talks with China's top diplomat Wang Yi.

The top Japanese diplomat said he has also expressed Tokyo's concern over the repeated entry of Chinese vessels into waters near the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, which are claimed by Beijing, as well as joint military activities between China and Russia near Japanese territory, The Japan Times reported.

On Taiwan, the Japanese Foreign Minister underscored the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait amid increasing Chinese military pressure in the region.

Hayashi also said he called on China to play a "responsible role," based upon international law, in working toward peace and stability in Ukraine after Russia invaded in February 2022.