China warship in key Japan visit

It will be the first visit to Japan by a naval vessel of communist China

A Chinese naval vessel has set off on a landmark visit to Japan, the first such port call since the Communist Party came to power in 1949.

The destroyer Shenzhen left China's southern port of Zhanjiang for the week-long voyage to Japan.

It will call first in the capital, Tokyo, on 28 November and then move to the Yokosuka naval base in Tokyo Bay.

The visit was agreed at a meeting in August between defence ministers of the two nations.

The ministers also agreed to set up a military hotline at their talks, the first in the Japanese capital for almost 10 years.

The visit is seen as a sign of improving ties between the two nations, after several years of chill under former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

A Japanese vessel is to make a reciprocal visit at a later date.