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TOKYO, JAPAN - APR. 12: Tourism ministers from Japan, China and South Korea agreed Sunday to boost visitor numbers between the three neighbors to 30 million people in 2020 from about 20 million in 2014. In a joint statement released after their meeting in Tokyo, the ministers also sought to collaborate in organizing a "visit East Asia" campaign to attract tourists from the United States, Europe and elsewhere during such occasions as the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. The meeting, the first such gathering since May 2011, was one of the three-way ministerial talks recently resumed following a lull in high-level contact among the three countries over territorial disputes and disagreements over history. Japanese tourism minister Akihiro Ota and his counterparts Li Jinzao of the China National Tourism Administration and Kim Jong Deok of South Korea called for measures to prevent problems arising from different daily habits and ensure the safety of tourists. In a bid to expand interaction among the three countries, they also agreed to increase flights and cruise-ship trips, and accelerate improvements in domestic transportation and telecommunications systems. "A new era has opened for tourism exchange among Japan, China and South Korea," the Japanese minister said at a news conference. The next such meeting of the tourism ministers will be held in Wuhan, China.