Japan agreed with Germany, France and Italy on Tuesday to work closely to handle issues related to a planned China-led new development bank although there is no change in Tokyo's cautiousness about joining it, Japanese officials said.

"We agreed that governance is important," Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters regarding the results of discussions with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier about the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, in which Berlin is participating.

Kishida and a Japanese government official who briefed reporters on the meeting with Steinmeier did not elaborate but the Japanese government has called for fair and transparent governance of the envisioned bank.