The meeting follows a rare trilateral summit in May in Seoul where the neighbours -- riven by historical and territorial disputes -- agreed to deepen ties.

"The international situation has become increasingly severe, and it is no exaggeration to say that we are at a turning point in history," Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said at the start of Saturday's meeting, the 11th of its kind.

"In this context, it has become more important than ever to make efforts to overcome division and confrontation through dialogue and cooperation", he said.

His Chinese counterpart Wang Yi said this year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, and that "only by sincerely reflecting on history can we better build the future".

Strengthening cooperation will allow the countries "to jointly resist risks" as well as promote "mutual understanding" between their populations, Wang said.

"Cooperation among the three countries can send a message of hope for the future to the world," said South Korea's Cho Tae-yul.

He added that he hoped "open and candid discussions will take place today regarding the North Korean nuclear issue".

At the Seoul summit in May, the countries' first top-level talks in five years, the group reaffirmed their goal of a denuclearised Korean peninsula.

Seoul and Tokyo typically take a stronger line against North Korea than China, which remains one of Pyongyang's most important allies and economic benefactors.

- Tariff talk -

On the eve of the gathering, the three ministers met Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who stressed the importance of "pragmatic diplomacy".

China and to a lesser extent South Korea and Japan have been hit by tariffs put in place by US President Donald Trump in recent weeks.

Climate change, ageing populations and trade are among the topics expected to be discussed on Saturday, as well as working together on disaster relief and science and technology.

The ministers aim to agree on arranging a trilateral leaders' summit by the end of the year, Japan's public broadcaster NHK reported.

They will also hold bilateral talks Saturday, while Japan and China will have their first so-called "high-level economic dialogue" in six years.

One issue Iwaya highlighted ahead of the talks was China's imports of Japanese seafood, which it halted in 2023 after Japan began releasing treated wastewater from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean.

China said in September it would "gradually resume" the imports, but this has yet to begin.

Patricia M. Kim, a foreign policy fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, said that while "trilateral dialogues have been ongoing for over a decade", this round "carries heightened significance" due to the new US position.

"Their leaders are under growing pressure to diversify their options and to seek alternative economic opportunities," she told AFP.

"As the three biggest economies in East Asia, it's not surprising that they would look to each other for opportunities," Kim said.

Beijing "has been working actively to improve relations with other major and middle powers amid growing frictions with the United States", she said.

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