Japan has offered to lend a hand to China to help in its 'toilet revolution'.

In the high-level meeting between both countries on Sunday and Monday (April 15 t0 16) -- the first of its kind in eight years --  toilets were on the agenda.

According to The Guardian, both sides pledged to improve ties through cooperation on issues from North Korea to avoiding a global trade war.

They also agreed to arrange for mutual visits by Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

New area of Sino-Japanese cooperation

According to the Nikkei Asian Review, Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, along with two other ministries, have been consulting private companies to help China.

The idea was raised in December when Toshihiro Nikai, Secretary General of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) visited the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) central party school in Beijing and suggested new areas of cooperation such as hygiene and quality toilets.

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Sino-Japanese relations

Sino-Japanese relations plunged to a 40-year low after the Japanese government bought the Senkaku Islands (or Diaoyudao) in 2012, sparking heated Chinese protests.

Abe has since sought to improve ties with China by pledging cooperation on China's Belt and Road (BRI) initiative.

According to Madoka Fukuda, a professor at Hosei University in Tokyo who was quoted on The Japan Times, Japan needs China to help rein in North Korea.

However, despite the diplomatic push, tensions over territorial disputes and Japan's history of militarism remain.

Top image via ONLY in JAPAN/YT