According to Kyodo news agency, Iwaya conveyed the plan during a meeting in Beijing focused on cultural exchanges.
The move follows China's late November resumption of its visa-free arrangement for short-term Japanese visitors, previously suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Earlier, Iwaya informed reporters that China's top diplomat, Wang Yi, has agreed to visit Japan early next year for a high-level bilateral economic dialogue.
Iwaya also confirmed the discovery of a new buoy in Japan's exclusive economic zone near Okinawa Prefecture, reportedly installed by China, and called for its immediate removal.
The diplomats reaffirmed plans to gradually lift China's ban on Japanese seafood imports, agreed upon in September, after the release of treated radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
-- BERNAMA
