The trade ministers of South Korea, China and Japan have agreed to finish their joint study on a proposed trilateral free trade agreement earlier than previously agreed. The study was previously set to wrap up before the three-nation summit next year.

Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon and his Japanese counterpart Banri Kaieda and Chinese counterpart Chen Deming reached the agreement in a meeting in Tokyo Sunday.

In the meeting, the Japanese minister urged Korea and China to ease regulations against Japanese food imports put in place following the radiation leakage from the Fukushima power plant.

But both countries expressed difficulty on easing import regulation citing concerns over public health.

The three countries, however, agreed on the need to share information on safety incidents such as the Fukushima crisis.