Japan has moved to ease an escalating diplomatic spat with China over Taiwan that has prompted Beijing to urge citizens to halt travel to its East Asian neighbour.

The dispute erupted after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told Japanese MPs this month that a Chinese attack on Taiwan threatening Japan's survival could trigger a military response.

Her comments broke with past administrations' avoidance of public discussion of such a scenario, so as not to provoke Beijing, which claims the self-ruled island.

Masaaki Kanai, the Japanese foreign ministry official in charge of Asia and Oceania affairs, arrived in the Chinese capital to meet his counterpart, Liu Jinsong, a video broadcast by the Kyodo news agency showed on Monday.

Mr Kanai is expected to explain that Japan's security policy has

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