China has pressed Japan not to broach Beijing's disputes with regional neighbours in the South China Sea at the Group of Seven (G-7) summit in Japan in May.
Kyodo news agency, quoting diplomatic sources, said Beijing warned that the issue would hamper efforts to improve relations with Tokyo.
It pressed the point at a vice-foreign ministerial meeting in Tokyo late last month, the sources were quoted as saying. They said Japan rebuffed the demand, saying the international community cannot accept China's building of artificial islands in the sea and their militarisation.
