SINGAPORE (AFP) -- Leaders of Japan and the 10-nation ASEAN bloc yesterday hailed the conclusion of talks on a free trade pact, which they hope to implement as early as next year.

Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and his counterparts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) put the finishing touches on the deal here. No date has been set for its formal signing.
""The leaders welcomed the successful conclusion of the negotiations for the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement,"" a joint statement released after the meeting said.
""The leaders expressed confidence that the agreement will provide a strong impetus for further invigoration of trade and investment.""
Under the deal, about 90 percent of trade between the world's second-largest economy and the Southeast Asian bloc will be tariff-free within 10 years.
It will be the first multinational free trade agreement (FTA) for Japan, which also has been seeking to conclude a flurry of bilateral pacts amid a breakdown in global trade negotiations.
Tokyo has so far reached bilateral deals with eight nations thus far, six of which are in the ASEAN group -- Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. The two others are Chile and Mexico.
Fukuda and Indian Prime Minister Manmoham Singh, who met here yesterday, agreed they would try to conclude an FTA by mid-2008, Japanese officials said.
Japan's regional rivals China and South Korea have also sealed economic partnerships with ASEAN, but a Japanese official told reporters that Tokyo's deal was the best of the lot.
""The economic partnership between Japan and ASEAN is comprehensive, covering not only cutting tariffs on products but also many other areas such as service, investment, and economic cooperation,"" the official said.
""In that sense, Japan is not behind moves by China and South Korea.""
South Korea's trade deal with ASEAN went into effect earlier this year, while ASEAN and China are expected to form a bilateral free trade area by 2010, which would cover nearly two billion people.
Japan is exploring the possibility of a wider East Asia trade deal that would include ASEAN plus Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea, but observers say that process is in its infancy.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.