TOKYO: Foreign ministers from Japan, China and South Korea kicked off a two-day meeting in Tokyo to talk about conflicts over territorial disputes, a US missile defence system and perennial regional problem. Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, China’s Wang Yi and South Korea’s Yun Byung-Se met for dinner at a Tokyo hotel before the start of the formal talks. The three shook hands and smiled for the cameras without making any remarks. The talks are the first since March 2015 and come ahead of the Group of 20 summit in China early next month. “It is extremely important for the foreign ministers of the three countries to get together and exchange opinions,” Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters. The meeting comes as Sino-Japanese tensions over a territorial dispute have spiked this month, while China and South Korea have argued over the planned deployment in the latter country of a US anti-missile system. The Tokyo-Seoul relationship is also prone to periodic tension due to the legacy of Japan’s wartime aggression.