Japan's Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama (L) shakes hand with his Thai counterpart Abhisit Vejjajiva before the 4th East Asia Summit meeting held on the sideline of the 15th ASEAN summit in Cha-Am of Hua Hin district, southern Thailand October 25, 2009. [Agencies]

HUA HIN, Thailand:  The global economy has likely bottomed out but employment conditions are "dire" and stimulus is needed across Asia to spur domestic demand, Japan's prime minister said.

"Prime Minister Hatoyama mentioned that at the moment the global economy is showing signs of recovery, mainly in Asia," Foreign Ministry spokesman Kazuo Kodama quoted Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama as telling Asian leaders gathered for a summit meeting in the Thai resort town of Hua Hin.

He said Hatoyama shared a view expressed at the meeting by Asian Development Bank President Haruhiko Kuroda that Asian economies need to stimulate domestic demand along with regional demand to become less dependant on the U.S. market.

"Rebalancing of the sources of growth in Asia is a very important challenge," he said, quoting Hatoyama.