That fixed link allows hundreds of thousands of citizens to move and work more freely in each other's countries, and has allowed for greater economic growth.[1][2] In contrast, northeast Asia, also one of the world's fastest growing economies, experiences a lower degree of internal political cohesion partly due to its poorer intraregional transportation links.[41] This observation was similarly noted after a two-day meeting in late 2008 by the Japan–Korea Cooperation Committee of business leaders and academics that reported "the undersea tunnel may contribute to the integration process of Northeast Asia",[4] helping to establish an Asian economic sphere of several hundred million-plus people.[42]