The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is set to establish the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by the end of this year, with the goal of creating a single market and production base encompassing over 600 million people. Japan, which has built friendly relations with ASEAN members and enjoys close trade and economic ties with the region, should provide effective support for the plan to help the group achieve better economic progress.

ASEAN was established in August 1967 by Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore mainly for political and security reasons. As time went on, it turned itself into an organization for wider regional cooperation, including economic integration.

Its membership has now grown to 10 countries, including Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia. The ASEAN members combined had gross domestic product reaching $2.4 trillion in 2013 — making it the world's seventh largest economy, even larger than Russia or India — with per-capita GDP reaching $3,837. The group's 2013 growth rate hit 5.1 percent, and it is forecast that ASEAN as a single entity could become the world's fourth-largest economy by 2050 if its growth trend continues. Its combined area is 12 times that of Japan and its total population is the world's third-largest, following China and India. Its combined population surpasses either the European Union or the United States as a market.