JAPAN IS PUSHING FOR AN ASIAN UNION

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NEW YORK:

Japan's new Prime Minister, Yukio Hatoyama, in his first meeting with China's President, has proposed the formation of an East Asian community.

On the eve of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Mr Hatoyama proposed to Hu Jintao the formation of a grouping like the European Union. He said the vision was designed to unify the region, possibly under a single currency.

''I told [Mr Hu] I would like to form an East Asian community by overcoming differences'' including a dispute over exploitation rights for gas fields lying near islands the two countries claim in East China Sea, Mr Hatoyama told reporters.





"I hope and am convinced China-Japan ties will develop more actively and enter a new phase," Mr Hu said, congratulating the Japanese leader on his election victory last month.

Mr Hatoyama's Democratic Party of Japan ended six decades of Liberal Democratic Party power, years that were often marked by frosty relations with China over Japan's war record.

Mr Hu agreed the two countries should work towards friendship and co-operation, and that officials should begin negotiations on an agreement. Mr Hu invited Mr Hatoyama to a summit including South Korea by December.

Mr Hatoyama urged Mr Hu to work on promoting public support for an accord with Japan. The Chinese President welcomed Mr Hatoyama's stance on Japan's aggression during World War II. Mr Hatoyama said his administration would honour a 1995 statement in which Japan apologized for past aggression.