Japan, China and South Korea will adopt an action plan Thursday for jointly tackling environmental issues over the next five years, even as trilateral cooperation in other areas remains elusive due to political constraints.

The action plan for 2015-2019 is set to be endorsed by the environment ministers from the three countries during their meeting in Shanghai, according to Japanese officials.

Environment Minister Yoshio Mochizuki and his Chinese and South Korean counterparts, Chen Jining and Yoon Seong Kyu, will discuss nine priority fields of cooperation decided to be included in the action plan, including air pollution, climate change and management of chemicals, the officials said.