Japan will bring a total of 300 engineers a year from Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand for training as it seeks to boost trade with Southeast Asia, the trade ministry said.

The engineers, who work in the automobile and steel industries, will start visiting from the fiscal year starting next April to tour factories or receive training on Japanese technology, a trade ministry official said.

Japan will also send 30 professionals a year to the three countries to provide training and conduct seminars, the official said, adding that the ministry had requested one billion yen (US$9 million) for the program.

Japan has agreed to fund technology projects in Southeast Asia as part of its free-trade negotiations with the Asean bloc, believing improvements in infrastructure would benefit Japanese manufacturers.

Speed up talks

Japan has sealed free-trade pacts with Singapore and Malaysia and is negotiating with the Philippines, Thailand and with the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) as a whole.

Asean secretary general Ong Keng Yong on an ongoing visit to Tokyo called on Japan to speed up free-trade talks with Asean, which accounts for some 27 percent of Japan's exports in Asia.