Mr. Hatoyama will stop in Seoul on Friday to meet first with Mr. Lee. South Korean diplomats have welcomed Mr. Hatoyama's promise not to visit a Tokyo shrine honoring Japan's war dead, including more than 1,000 individuals classified as convicted war criminals from World War II. Mr. Lee has tried to tamp down some nationalist disputes with Japan since he took office last year, saying he thinks the two countries' relationship should be 'future-focused.'

China's reaction to the proposed alliance has been cool, according to Japanese officials speaking after Mr. Hatoyama met with Chinese Prime Minister Hu Jintao in New York last month. Still, Chinese state-controlled media has also responded positively to Mr. Hatoyama's vow not to visit the war shrine.

Earlier this week, Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada said the group should include Japan, China, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand, as well as the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The group should initially focus on economic cooperation, he said.

The nations together accounted for 23% of the world's economic output last year, compared with 24% for the U.S. and 30% for the EU, according to Japanese foreign-ministry data.

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