Creating an Asian Community will not be an easy task, given the huge political and economic differences between countries and disagreements between prospective members over how tight integration should be, said political, business and academic leaders Friday at an international forum in Tokyo.

Of the many obstacles that must be overcome if Asian integration is to deepen, relations between Japan and China drew keen attention at the two-day Tokyo conference of the World Economic Forum on East Asia, which wrapped up Friday.

"The problem is really between China and Japan," Ong Keng Yong, secretary general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, said at a panel session Friday.