Senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi has emphasized on Thursday that Tokyo should "translate into concrete actions" its words that state its hopes to improve China-Japan relations as soon as possible.

Wang made the urge when he met in Beijing with Takeo Akiba, special adviser to the Japanese cabinet and secretary general of Japan's National Security Secretariat.

Together with Akiba, Wang, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, held consultations under the China-Japan high-level political dialogue mechanism.

Wang "clarified China's principled position on the current China-Japan relations and pointed out the right path to improve and develop China-Japan relations", the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"The two sides reiterated that they abide by the principles set out in the four China-Japan political documents and are making efforts to push the two countries' relations back to the track of sound and stable development," the statement said.

"Both sides agreed to continue maintaining communication in this regard," it added.

During the talks, Wang also stated China's position and concerns on topics such as the discharge of radioactive contaminated water from a nuclear power plant in Japan's Fukushima into the sea, Taiwan and the history.