Japan's Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi is seen on Nov. 10, 2021, at the prime minister's office in Tokyo. (Mainichi)

       TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and his Canadian counterpart Melanie Joly expressed a shared sense of caution about China's increasing military and economic clout in a teleconference on Friday, the Japanese government said.

       "As for China, the two ministers agreed to continue to strongly oppose unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force in the East and South China seas and to oppose coercive economic pressure," Japan's Foreign Ministry said in a press release following their approximately 35-minute conversation.

       The talks came as China has been stepping up its maritime activities in nearby waters including around the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. Beijing claims the group of Tokyo-administered islets and calls them Diaoyu.

       They also exchanged views on the regional situations including North Korea's missile and nuclear threats as well as its abduction in the 1970s and 1980s of Japanese nationals who have not returned home, pledging to continue to cooperate on those issues, according to the Japanese ministry.

       Hayashi expressed how Japan "highly appreciates" Ottawa's participation in a multinational mission to monitor ship-to-ship transfers of goods by Pyongyang in violation of U.N. sanctions for its nuclear and missile development, the ministry said.

       The two agreed to discuss further security cooperation to realize a "free and open Indo-Pacific" region, according to the ministry.

       Hayashi took his post early this month, while Joly became Canada's top diplomat late last month.

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