The three-way foreign ministerial meeting is held about once a year in rotation. Japan is hosting for the first time in over five years.

The aim of the gathering is to foster mutual trust and deepen cooperation between the three big Asian economies.  Starting in 2004, the meeting was held on the sidelines of international meetings.  It became independently scheduled regular discussions in 2007, and has been held every year without fail since then.

But ties between the three nations are often strained due to the legacy of Japan's wartime aggression against China and South Korea. Tensions between Beijing and Tokyo have also been high as territorial disputes escalate over the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea. 

Japan and South Korea have another territorial dispute over small islands about half way between their mainlands. And ties between China and South Korea have been tested recently by Seoul’s decision to deploy the US-developed THAAD missile shield, which Seoul says is needed for defense purposes.