OSAKA -- The three largest Kansai-area business organizations on Monday announced they will study ways to consolidate their efforts but insisted there would be no merger into a single entity.

Kansai Economic Federation, the Kansai Association of Corporate Executives and the Kansai Productivity Center said that a committee will study ways in which the organizations can tie up.

The committee, to be formed next month, will consist of the chairmen and vice-chairmen of the three organizations, plus other executives.

"It is important for the revitalization of the Kansai economy that the strengths of each of the three organizations be utilized in an efficient and effective manner," said Yoshihisa Akiyama, chairman of the Kansai Economic Federation.

Calls for the three organizations to merge have grown recently, as the local economy shows no signs of recovery. Criticism that the existence of three separate business organizations is not cost-efficient, especially from JR West, was heard at the Kansai Economic Summit in February.

Voices in the Kansai Economic Federation are calling for the two smaller organizations to merge under its leadership. That idea, however, was opposed by the Kansai Association of Corporate Executives. Kazuaki Tsuda, head of the association, denied the agreement is aimed at an eventual merger.

"I think that a merger between the Kansai Association of Corporate Executives and the Kansai Economic Federation is impossible," Tsuda said. "Our association contains many heads of small and medium enterprises who feel that their voices are best represented through a separate organization."