Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Saturday that a face-to-face meeting he had sought with U.S. president-elect Donald Trump would not go ahead. Ishiba told reporters in Lima, Peru, that Trump's camp explained that meetings with world leaders before the inauguration were restricted under the Logan Act.

Chinese president Xi Jinping has told Japanese prime minister Shigeru Ishiba that he hopes Japan will “properly” handle issues such as history and Taiwan after Tokyo expressed concerns about Beijing’s “increasingly aggressive military manoeuvres”.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba agreed to strengthen communication at all levels during their first meeting since the Japanese leader took office in October.

Chinese President Xi Jinping told Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in their first meeting that China hoped Japan would "properly handle" major issues such as history and Taiwan, according to Chinese state media on Saturday.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba received some rare good news as parliament backed him to stay in the job ahead of an expected high-stakes meeting with US President-elect Donald Trump.

Shigeru Ishiba's scandal-tarnished coalition lost its parliamentary majority in a lower house election late last month.

He will now navigate hostilities within his party, economic woes and a period of flux in international relations.