In a visit that would have been unthinkable just months ago, Wen will be the first Chinese leader to come to Japan in seven years.

“I believe Premier Wen is coming here to do real business. He is not coming as a ceremonial act. He wants to really reclaim relations,” said Mitsuyuki Kagami, professor of Chinese affairs at the Aichi University.

China has become Japan’s top trading partner with the two economies increasingly interlinked, despite the sour ties linked to Japan’s past military aggression.

China “wants stability as it prepares for major international events such as the Olympics and the Shanghai Expo. Those are symbols of peaceful development and China cannot ignore contributions from Japan to make them successful,” said Akihiko Tanaka, professor of international politics at the University of Tokyo.

Just two years ago, China said bilateral relations had fallen to their lowest point since the two countries resumed ties in 1972 due to then prime minister Junichiro Koizumi’s visits to a controversial war shrine.

The Chinese public staged unusually rowdy protests in 2005 as Beijing scuttled Tokyo’s cherished bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe went to Beijing days after taking over from Koizumi in September. Wen has cast his return trip to Tokyo as an “ice-melting trip” after Abe’s “ice-thawing” visit.

In the three-day visit, Wen will address the Japanese parliament, have an audience with Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, attend a forum of the two countries’ economic ministers and tour the ancient capital of Kyoto.

The two countries “will use Wen’s visit as a way to increase understanding among the two nations and to improve the mistrust among public of their respective nations,” Kagami said.

Abe is known for his conservative views on history and triggered an uproar last month when he denied the Japanese troops directly coerced World War II sex slaves into brothels. He later apologized to the women.

Abe was also a staunch supporter of Koizumi’s visits to the Yasukuni shrine, which venerates Japanese war dead and war criminals alike.

But he has kept tight-lipped about whether he would visit the shrine as a prime minister, saying discussing the topic would only harm Japan’s ties with China and South Korea.

For Abe, Wen’s visit could prove his diplomatic clout as he struggles with low public approval ratings due to domestic issues.

Better relations with China are also crucial for Abe to prevent opposition to causes dear to his heart such as rewriting the U.S.-imposed post-World War II pacifist constitution.

In largely symbolic gestures, news reports have said Japan will agree to give China energy-saving technology to reduce greenhouse gas and that Beijing will announce a resumption of Japanese rice imports.

But the two countries appear to have failed to reach a breakthrough in time for Wen’s visit on one of their most protracted disputes — contested gas fields in the East China Sea — despite extensive talks in recent weeks.

“Acting as a realist, Abe has a shared understanding with Chinese leaders that they both do not want any more trouble,” said Kazuhiko Ito, professor of Chinese affairs at Utsunomiya University.

“I suppose there is no way to avoid talking about history issues” during Wen’s visit, he said. “It will be a success if both sides stick to the same lines and exchange harmless remarks and emphasize the future of the two nations.”

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