Japan, China, and South Korea's foreign ministers gathered in Tokyo to strengthen trilateral cooperation on common challenges despite rising regional tensions. The meeting focused on issues like aging populations, declining birth rates, natural disasters, and green economy initiatives.

Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul expressed commitment to promote trust while addressing shared concerns. Their goal is to gain broader support for cooperation among the three East Asian nations.

North Korea's nuclear program was a key topic during the talks. Iwaya voiced concerns about North Korea's weapons development and its collaboration with Russia, stressing the need for complete denuclearization under UN Security Council resolutions.

Wang highlighted that cooperation in technology and climate would be central to East Asian relations. "Trilateral cooperation in areas including technology and climate exchange will serve as key driving force for East Asian cooperation," he stated.

The ministers discussed plans for a trilateral leaders' summit in Japan later this year. This comes amid growing political and economic uncertainty and challenges posed by the policies of U.S. President Donald Trump. Iwaya confirmed efforts to accelerate the summit preparations.

The meeting occurs as China launches new economic initiatives at home. Beijing recently announced plans to boost domestic consumption through wage growth, childcare subsidies, and developing new markets in AI products and tourism, addressing concerns about its 5% growth target amid deflation and rising unemployment.

The three-way meetings represent a diplomatic achievement for Japan, which has ongoing historical and territorial disputes with both neighboring countries. Following the foreign ministers' meeting, Japan and China held their first high-level economic dialogue since April 2019, attended by officials from various ministries including:

• Finance
• Economy
• Transportation
• Environment
• Health
• Labor

Wang criticized what he described as growing unilateralism and protectionism in the global economy. He pointed to the "politicizing of science and technology" and expansion of national security measures becoming "rampant" in an apparent reference to Trump's policies.

Progress was reported regarding China's ban on Japanese seafood imports. Iwaya told reporters that both countries acknowledged advancement in their agreed process toward lifting the ban, which Beijing imposed following Japan's 2023 release of treated radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant.