Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday he will endeavor to work with the leaders of China and South Korea to advance "practical cooperation" during their trilateral summit in Seoul next week, the first of its kind in four years, emphasizing the importance of promoting stability in a region overshadowed by tensions.
During an interview with Kyodo News ahead of the meeting on Monday, Kishida also expressed his intention to engage in close communication with China and South Korea regarding North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, as well as its past abduction of Japanese nationals. He also emphasized the importance of discussions on ways to ensure "a free and fair international economic order."
"I hope to have an open discussion and agree to promote future-oriented and practical cooperation on a wide range of issues," Kishida said, noting that the three countries share a heavy responsibility for the region's peace and prosperity.
Kishida, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol are expected to attend the summit, with agenda items expected to include personnel exchanges, economic cooperation and trade, as well as discussions on public health, according to Japanese officials.
The Japan-China-South Korea summit had not been held since 2019 against a backdrop of strained Tokyo-Seoul ties over a long-standing wartime labor dispute, Beijing's intensifying military activities in the East China Sea and the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, the situation among the three East Asian neighbors has been evolving, notably with Japan-South Korea relations significantly improving under the administration of President Yoon, who took office in May 2022, which has added momentum to trilateral collaboration involving the United States.
Kishida said economic cooperation will be a key topic in the upcoming summit while acknowledging that there are "subtle differences" in the positions of the three countries in ensuring a fair international economic order.
With concerns over what is seen as unfair Chinese trade practices, such as the extensive use of industrial subsidies, Kishida said he aims to "share the awareness on the importance of rules-based economic order" among the three countries and called for "nuts and bolts efforts" toward that end.
On the sidelines of the trilateral summit, Kishida said he is eager to meet bilaterally with Li and vowed to work toward building constructive and stable ties with China through continued top-level dialogue, including with President Xi Jinping.
Outstanding bilateral issues include China's large-scale military drills surrounding Taiwan and Beijing's ongoing ban on Japanese marine products in protest of the release of treated radioactive water from northeastern Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea.
Bilateral talks with Yoon are being arranged to take place on Sunday.
On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties with South Korea next year, Kishida indicated that efforts would be made to come up with a joint document with Seoul.
"We want to exchange frank opinions on how Japan and South Korea should cooperate and collaborate" in a way that "fits the new era" of the bilateral relationship, he said.
The upcoming Japan-China-South Korea summit will be the ninth after the three East Asian nations agreed to hold talks among the three leaders annually on a rotating basis at the first standalone gathering in 2008.
In the interview, Kishida said that he would like to "regularize" the three-way summit, given its more than four-year hiatus.
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