The government will propose an agreement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that would scrap tariffs on 9,000 Japanese goods exported to the region, according to an official at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

METI chief Akira Amari will attend a meeting Saturday of ASEAN ministers in Manila to negotiate Japan's first free-trade agreement with a regional bloc. Japan plans to conclude the talks in November, the official said on condition of anonymity.

"An economic partnership agreement will further boost the ASEAN economy," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday in Jakarta.