Leaders of China, Japan, and South Korea agreed on weekend to facilitate joint programs on renewable energy and energy conservation to avoid excessive dependence on nuclear energy even as they recognize nuclear power as a very important option for many countries.

At the same time, the three nations vow to work together on economic advancement and food safety and pledged to cooperate during disasters.

At a trilateral two-day summit held in Tokyo, hosted by Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan, with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, the three leaders issued a joint declaration vowing to help each other, "especially at times of disaster and adversity."

Following the March 11 tragedy of the magnitude 9 earthquake and massive tsunami that hit Japan and damaged the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, the danger of which has been compared to the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, China and South Korea have been critical of Japan's handling of the crisis.

In a statement after Sunday's meeting, the leaders agreed that safety measures should be based on informed policy and overreaction should be avoided.

The joint statement of the three nations said, "We decided to strengthen co-operation in information sharing. In addition, we also decided to start discussion on establishing early notification framework in case of emergency and exchanging experts."

In their weekend talks, they also agreed to promote dialogues and cooperation concerning food safety and energy security.

Wen said China will ease import restrictions imposed after Japan's nuclear crisis raised safety concerns. He said China is willing to eliminate bans on produce from more areas of Japan, though he stressed that safety most be ensured.

Wen added that China will no longer require some food products to have radiation inspection certificates.

On Saturday, the three leaders met in Fukushima to demonstrate their joint desire for Japan's recovery.

On Saturday, Wen and Lee, the first foreign leaders to visit Fukushima since the disaster, ate food in the Fukushima prefecture to highlight that food from Japan is not contaminated.

Meanwhile, Lee said South Korea would do all it could to help reconstruction work in Japan.

Kan said he was grateful for the help of Japan's two neighbors.

Since 2008, the leaders of the three countries have met annually on an informal basis.