NEW YORK — Japan's prime minister says Chinese government vessels are still intruding into Japanese territorial waters around contested islands, but he says the door to dialogue with Beijing is always open.
The Asian powers' conflicting claims to the remote islands, called Senkaku by Japan and Diaoyu by China, have badly strained relations. China says it, too, is ready to talk, but only if Japan formally acknowledges disputed sovereignty.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Friday that Japan would make no concession on sovereignty.
But he said Japan does not intend to escalate the issue, and both nations have responsibility to maintain regional peace.
Abe told reporters: "The door to dialogue is always open, and I really hope that the Chinese side will take a similar attitude and have the same mindset."