Japan is proposing fresh dialogue with China in several specific fields to prepare for the potential resumption of reciprocal leaders' visits amid a thaw in long-strained bilateral ties, Japanese government sources said Tuesday.

Tokyo has already put out feelers through diplomatic channels about new bilateral dialogue frameworks on climate change, nuclear disarmament and counterterrorism, the sources said, aiming to bridge policy differences to help realize the visits in the near future.

Japan-China relations are showing signs of improvement after both Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping reinforced their domestic support in key political events late last year. Neither Abe nor Xi has held talks in the format of an official visit to the other's country since they both took office in 2012.

On climate change, Tokyo wants to hold regular talks with the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitter to discuss how best to reduce emissions, according to the sources.

Bilateral talks on nuclear disarmament are hoped to allow Japan and China to discuss measures the international community should take, and also help them reduce tensions over the fundamental difference in their positions. Japan is sheltered by the U.S. "nuclear umbrella," while China has its own nuclear arsenal.

Dialogue on counterterrorism would challenge the two countries to find common ground. While counterterrorism policy in China is intertwined with a crackdown on ethnic minority movements, Japan is concerned about protecting the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics and other events, the sources said.