Tokyo's new ambassador to China on Monday expressed his country's desire to boost economic links as a way to thaw cooling ties amid tension over the Diaoyu Islands.

Observers said Japan worries about becoming further marginalized if it completely quits China's huge market, and Japan should realize that trade will not improve if the country makes no major progress in resolving the territorial standoff.

Masato Kitera, a career diplomat who will succeed Uichiro Niwa as Japan's ambassador to China, told Japan's NHK Television on Monday that his "number one mission is to improve the Japan-China relationship".