Visits among 3 Northeast Asian nations hit 20 million

Senior diplomats from China, Japan and South Korea have voiced optimism about the expanding number of visits made among the three nations at a time when the three governments are resuming a number of ministerial-level trilateral dialogues.

Despite Japan's strained relationships with its two neighbors over historical and territorial issues in the past three years, more than 20 million tourism visits were made among the three Northeast Asia economies last year, including 10 million between China and South Korea.

Shigeo Iwatani, secretary-general of the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat, told China Daily in an interview that the April trilateral ministerial meeting on tourism set the goal of 30 million annual visits among the three countries by 2020.

Established by the three governments in 2011, the TCS has been coordinating a range of trilateral events, including the landmark resumption of the foreign ministers meeting in March.

"I'm quite sure that kind of target is achievable," Iwatani said of the tourism goal, noting the increasingly convenient and cost-effective transportation among the three neighbors.

Iwatani said that as more Chinese people are visiting Japan, "this is a very good opportunity to get to know each other mutually about the differences in culture, and which elements are important to your culture".

Conflicts of culture arise as a number of Chinese tourists travel in Japan and South Korea, and some cases have prompted public debate.

Chen Feng, deputy secretary-general of the TCS and a diplomat sent by China, said the three governments found similar problems and agreed to communicate more.

"South Korean and Japanese tourism industry workers will distribute more booklets to Chinese travelers to make their visits run more smoothly and their travel more convenient," he said.

As the regional political climate is warming up again, TCS officials estimate that there will be 17 ministerial meetings taking place this year, including those that have already been held regarding foreign affairs, water resources, the environment and tourism.

Optimism has also been expressed by diplomats over whether the three countries will further tackle thorny issues regarding history as the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II approaches.

Lee Jong-heon, deputy secretary-general of the TCS, said he likes the spirit agreed to by the three foreign ministers in March for handling the history issue: "facing history squarely and advancing toward the future".

"We need to go back to this fundamental spirit," Lee said, calling it an "irresistible trend".

Iwatani said the three sides have to "make more efforts" to contain the fallout from these problems.