SINGAPORE (MNI) - Japan will accelerate talks on forging economic partnership agreements (EPAs) with more countries, as part of a vision of an East Asian Community bloc, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Sunday, although he remained unclear about who would be members of such a community.

In a speech given at the end of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Singapore, Hatoyama said his plan for the East Asian Community stemmed from the interpretation of the word "yu-ai," typically translated as "fraternity," according to an advance text of his speech.

Hatoyama noted that although Japan has already inked separate EPAs with seven members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and one with the ASEAN group as a whole, these were "insufficient to fully open up Japan.

Thus, Hatoyama said Japan will speed up talks on closing EPAs with South Korea, India and Australia.

ASEAN is made up of 10 members, including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei, the Philippines, Myanmar or Burma, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.

"In my initiative, I propose that countries sharing a common vision promote cooperation in various fields. This would be based on the principle of 'open regional cooperation.'" Hatoyama said.

Hatoyama however did not elaborate on membership of the East Asian Community, although there had been some suggestions in the past that Japan's proposal was of a bloc which didn't include the U.S.

On the issue of membership of the East Asian Community, Hatoyama said, "To that, my answer is - people who share these ideals and dreams."

The East Asian Community plan has reportedly put Japan at odds with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's proposal for an Asia Pacific Community, which is supposed to include the U.S.

In his speech earlier this week, Rudd also didn't touch on the issue of membership of the Asia Pacific Community.

In his speech today, Hatoyama, however acknowledged the role of the U.S. in Asia, particularly in security.

"The presence of the United States has been playing and will continue to play an important role in ensuring the peace and prosperity of Asia, including Japan," Hatoyama said.

"This is one of the greatest reasons that Japan continues to regards the Japan-U.S. alliance as the linchpin of Japanese foreign policy."

The APEC summit in Singapore ends today and Japan is set to host next year's summit in Yokohama.

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