Keizō Obuchi
The idea of a trilateral framework between China, Japan and South Korea has its roots in the late 1990s, when a participant at one of the monthly breakfasts between experts and Japanese Prime Minister Keizō Obuchi suggested holding a trilateral meeting on the sidelines of the pre-existing ASEAN meetings. Keizō Obuchi liked the idea and Tokyo formally proposed the idea to Beijing and Seoul, resulting in a breakfast meeting on the sidelines of the 1999 ASEAN+3 Summit in Manila. This meeting marked the first step for developing trilateral cooperation and its framework, with 1999 being celebrated as the first year of China-Japan-South Korea cooperation.