The conference, dubbed the “Meeting of Senior Defence Officials on Common Security Challenges in the Asia-Pacific Region,” will explore nonmilitary security issues that are confronting the participating countries, such as natural disasters and bird flu.

“Relations between Japan and ASEAN have long centred on the economy. So we hope to move them up to a higher level and start to build confidence from an area that is less likely to meet resistance,'' a senior ministry official was quoted as saying in a briefing.

The one-day meeting in Tokyo, will be chaired by Japanese Vice Defence Minister Kohei Masuda, and followed by bilateral meetings between Masuda and his counterparts from Brunei, Indonesia and Singapore.

ASEAN is consisted of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.