March 23, 2025 (EIRNS)—The Foreign Ministers of China, Japan and South Korea met in Tokyo on March 22 to discuss their trilateral relations, and “agreed to deepen mutual understanding through economic cooperation and people-to-people exchanges, while also agreeing to promote joint research on low birth rates and aging populations, problems all three countries are facing,” reported the Japan News.
The representatives were Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya of Japan, Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul of South Korea, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi of China.
They recognized that in the context of international conflicts, such as the Russia-Ukraine war and the relentless attacks on Gaza by the Israel Defense Forces, the role of their three countries to promote stability and peace in the region is increasing.
While Japan and South Korea expressed concerns about North Korea’s nuclear and missile development, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi counseled that, “All parties should face up to the root causes of the issue and meet each other halfway.” China supports conflict resolution through dialogue, rather than unilateral condemnation of North Korea.
There were also discussions regarding trade, economic and territorial issues, such as Japanese concerns of the intrusion of Chinese vessels into Japan’s territorial waters.
Following this meeting, the Chinese and Japanese foreign ministers held a bilateral meeting for about an hour with simultaneous translation, with “candid” discussions regarding issues of concern. “The two foreign ministers also discussed how to proceed with Japan-China relations this year and shared the view to ensure the progress of reducing issues and concerns and increasing cooperation and coordination under a broad direction of comprehensively promoting a ‘Mutually Beneficial Relationship Based on Common Strategic Interests’ and building ‘constructive and stable Japan-China relations’ as confirmed by the leaders of both Japan and China. In particular, Minister Iwaya pointed out the importance of resolving issues of concerns through repeated high-level exchanges,” noted Japan’s official press release.
