At the start of Thursday's talks, Kenichiro Sasae, head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asia-Oceania Bureau, said the neighbors need to cooperate to resolve the issue.

"There are differences in opinions on both sides, but it is important to make progress toward resolving the issue with a broad picture in mind," he said.

Hu Zhengyue, chief of the Chinese Foreign Ministry's Department of Asian Affairs, said both countries should be optimistic: "China wants to work hard with Japan so we can make progress."

Japan said last month Chinese maritime authorities had posted a notice that all unauthorized ships would be banned in the waters around the Pinghu field from March 1 to September 30.

But Beijing said the notice excludes the waters on the Japanese side.

Chiba said both sides acknowledged the importance Thursday of managing ship traffic, including flotillas of Japanese fishing vessels, in the region so that an "unexpected" incident doesn't occur.