AKARTA: Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi arrived in Indonesia on Saturday on the penultimate leg of a five-nation tour aimed at boosting economic cooperation between Japan and Southeast Asian countries.

Koizumi was greeted by Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda and several other ministers at Jakarta's Halim Perdanakusuma military airport.

He is due to hold separate talks with Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri and Vice President Hamzah Haz later in the day.

Koizumi is expected to brief Megawati of his proposal to form a comprehensive economic alliance between Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), a Japanese official said.

The two leaders are also expected to discuss a plan to designate 2003 as a year of exchange between Japan and Asean in various fields, the official said.

Koizumi first unveiled the economic proposal to Philippine President Gloria Arroyo on Wednesday, and later informed Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra about the idea.

He told the Asean leaders that the initiative, aimed to "strengthen economic links on broad issues", may include free trade accords between Japan and the 10-member regional grouping.

Megawati and Koizumi are also likely to renew their joint efforts to fight terrorism following the September 11 terror attacks in the United States.

Koizumi is scheduled to leave Jakarta at noon on Sunday for Singapore to hold talks with Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong before returning to Tokyo on January 15.

Asean comprises the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.