Tokyo ? A warship from China dropped anchor off Tokyo on Wednesday for the first port call in Japan by a Chinese vessel since World War II – a highly symbolic display of improving ties between the two Asian giants.

The guided missile destroyer Shenzhen will stay for four days and be opened to the Japanese public for tours. It also will dock at the Japanese naval headquarters in Yokosuka, just south of the capital, before returning to its home base in the southern Chinese port of Zhanjiang.

As part of a mutual exchange, a Japanese ship will visit China later.