TOKYO - Japanese new ambassador to China Masato Kitera and his predecessor Uichiro Niwa said Thursday that they believe relations between Japan and China will be improved.

They made the remark at a farewell and welcome party of old and new ambassador to China held in Tokyo.

Further deepening the strategic and mutually beneficial relationship between Japan and China and intensifying bilateral communication and exchanges serve both countries' interests, Kitera said.

He said Japan and China share a long history of communication and the two countries should establish a long-term friendship through an overall perspective.

Niwa said he left Beijing with a belief that the future of the bilateral relations is not gloomy and a sound Japan-China relationship will benefit the development of the two countries.

He also said both sides have to stick to Japan-China friendship, which serves the only way for both to develop together.

Tensions soured between China and Japan as the latter unilaterally and illegally "nationalized" the Diaoyu Islands, which are China's inherent territories.

Kitera will leave for Beijing on December 25 and he told Xinhua on December 14 that his priority in China is to improve the damaged Japan- China relations.