The foreign ministers of Japan, South Korea and China have agreed to boost cooperation at talks in Tokyo, Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said.

"We had a frank exchange of views on trilateral cooperation and regional international affairs from a broad perspective, and confirmed that we will promote future-orientated cooperation," Iwaya told reporters after the trilateral meeting on Saturday.

At the start of the meeting, Iwaya said: "Given the increasingly severe international situation, I believe we may truly be at a turning point in history."

"That makes it even more important to overcome division and confrontation through dialogue and cooperation," Iwaya added.

The first meeting of the countries' foreign ministers since 2023 — coming as US President Donald Trump upends decades-old alliances — is expected to cover topics from North Korean nuclear weapons to trade and pave the way for a trilateral summit, following one in Seoul last year.

"The peace and security of the Korean Peninsula are essential conditions for peace and prosperity in East Asia and the world, and I hope that candid discussion on the North Korean nuclear issue will take place today," South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul said.

Free trade talks

Noting that this year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two — which pitted China against Japan, the Korean Peninsula's colonial ruler at the time — Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing wanted to pursue free trade talks.

"Our three countries should reaffirm our shared understanding of facing history honestly and looking toward the future, and strengthen East Asian cooperation," Wang said.

Tokyo and Seoul are close allies to Washington, hosting thousands of US troops on their soil. All of them consider China, the world's second-biggest economy, a challenge to regional security.

Iwaya is to meet separately with his Chinese and South Korean counterparts, including the first high-level economic dialogue with Beijing in six years.

That meeting will include a discussion of a ban on Japanese seafood imports imposed by China after the release of wastewater from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant in 2023, Iwaya said this week.