A video from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was played to express his greetings to the Chinese people residing in Japan, the first time an incumbent Japanese prime minister sends the Chinese Lunar New Year greetings through a video.

"Happy Chinese New Year," Abe said in Chinese at the beginning of the video. He went on to say "Last year was an important year in the history of Japan-China relations."

Abe said Japan-China relations have fully returned to the normal track.

The Japanese prime minister said that Japan welcomed a record high number of more than 8.3 million Chinese visitors in 2018 and the direct exchanges between the two peoples play a vital role in deepening mutual understanding and trust between the two countries.

Abe said he sincerely welcomes more Chinese friends to visit Japan and also hopes more Japanese will go to China and build a bridge for exchanges.