Future prospects of Japan-Indonesia relations<\/p>\n
By Takao Kawakami, Ambassador of Japan<\/p>\n
A special article on the occasion of the birthday of His Majesty
\nthe Emperor of Japan.<\/p>\n
1999 was a historic year for Indonesia. The domestic process
\nof a general election and the selection of a new President and
\nVice President was successfully implemented. The direct ballot
\nvoting in East Timor took place, and the separation of that
\nregion was formally recognized in the People's Consultative
\nAssembly. We are glad to note the smooth establishment of the new
\ngovernment.<\/p>\n
Japan welcomes these political developments, and, as a
\nneighbor and friend of Indonesia, Japan will not spare its
\nefforts to support the reform efforts of Indonesia. Japan expects
\nits friendship with Indonesia to develop further in the coming
\nyear. I would at this time like to recapitulate the recent key
\nevents in Japan-Indonesia relations.<\/p>\n
President Abdurrahman Wahid visited Japan from the 15th to the
\n16th of November, and held a meeting with Prime Minister Obuchi
\non the 16th of November. Just ten days later, on the 26th and the
\n27th of the same month, Prime Minister Obuchi visited Indonesia.
\nThe two dignitaries again held meetings. The visit by Prime
\nMinister Obuchi was the first by a foreign top-level government
\nleader since the establishment of the new government in
\nIndonesia. During the talks, Japan expressed its political will
\nto assist Indonesia in its reform efforts, and made concrete
\nproposals to that end. This was greeted by whole hearted
\nagreement from the Indonesian side. It is striking that in this
\nshort period of time both leaders have visited one another's
\ncountries. Such mutual visits certainly have contributed
\nimmensely toward constructing a strong and personal relationship
\nbetween the two leaders and further enhancing the friendly and
\ncooperative relationship between Japan and Indonesia that has
\nbeen matured over the years.<\/p>\n
The restored confidence of the international community has
\nbrought renewed stability to the rupiah and there is a sense that
\nthe Indonesian economy is coming out from its worst times.
\nJapanese businesses have long been operating in Indonesia, mainly
\nin the manufacturing sector. Even through the most difficult
\nperiod of economic crisis, Japanese companies maintained their
\noverall presence in Indonesia. At present over one thousand five
\nhundred Japanese enterprises are operating in Indonesia, and
\nroughly twelve thousand Japanese people are living here. It is
\nthrough their economic activities that close relationship between
\nboth countries is further strengthened. Japan being the top
\ninvestor in Indonesia, the cumulative amount of Japanese
\ninvestment in Indonesia has so far totaled 44 billion U.S.
\ndollars. It is expected that with Indonesia's recovery, the
\namount of Japanese investment will increase further. Japan will
\nextend her hand in cooperation, and help the Indonesian economy
\nto attain a level of international competitiveness.<\/p>\n
To help Asian countries cope with the difficulties brought on
\nby the unprecedented economic crisis, since 1997 Japan has been
\nimplementing an assistance scheme totaling 80 billion U.S.
\ndollars. This assistance scheme, the largest ever, focuses on the
\nfollowing four points: 1) Revitalizing economics; 2) Economic
\nstructural reform and human resources development; 3) The
\ndevelopment of a social safety net as relief measures for the
\nsocially vulnerables; and 4) Stabilizing currencies.<\/p>\n
At present 68 billion dollars have been implemented for such
\npurposes. It is comprised of an international assistance package
\ncoordinated through the IMF (19 billion dollars), medium-long
\nterm as well as short-term financial support (the amount of 30
\nbillion dollars) as part of the New Miyazawa Initiative, and the
\nestablishment of an Asian Currency Crisis Support Facility within
\nthe Asian Development Bank (about 3 billion dollars).<\/p>\n
Furthermore, assistance such as full implementation of the New
\nMiyazawa Initiative as well as the Special Yen Loan for building
\nup infrastructure which will contribute to economic structural
\nreforms expected to go ahead.<\/p>\n
In Indonesia, since last year, Japan has increased assistance
\nfor programs that focus on socially vulnerable and unemployed
\npeople, agriculture, small and medium sized enterprises, and the
\ntrade finance sector generally. In order to aid the socially
\nvulnerables, wide-ranging cooperation has been established not
\nonly on a government-to-government level, but also through direct
\nassistance to NGOs through the small-scale grant assistance for
\ngrassroots projects. This kind of assistance covers, for example,
\nthe distribution of rice to the poor through the Nahdatul Ulama,
\nhumanitarian aid to Acehnese refugees under the auspices of the
\nIndonesian Red Cross.<\/p>\n
To cope with a problem of unemployment, Japan has also
\nimplemented quickly-disbursable Yen Loans for various sectors of
\nthe economy such as farming, transportation and education.<\/p>\n
Moreover, during the Indonesian general election in June,
\nJapan contributed to the fair implementation of the election by
\ndispatching experts to help with the implementation of the
\nelection and by providing equipment and funds.<\/p>\n
Japan has been providing economic assistance through various
\nprograms including the Yen Loan Program, as well as grant and
\ntechnical assistance. These programs have placed importance on 1)
\nsecuring of fairness and transparency; 2) human resources
\ndevelopment and education; 3) environmental protection; 4)
\nreorganization of the industrial structure; and 5) consolidation
\nof an industrial base (economic infrastructure).<\/p>\n
In cumulative terms, Indonesia is the largest recipient of
\nJapanese economic assistance. This reflects the great importance
\nJapan places on its relations with Indonesia. Through such
\nefforts as dialogue with the Indonesian government, Japan will
\ncontinue to strive to provide a cooperative hand to Indonesia in
\nan appropriate manner.<\/p>\n
Japan hopes to develop a wide-ranging relationship with
\nIndonesia as well as the ASEAN countries. In September of this
\nyear, the \"Mission for Revitalization of Asian Economy\", headed
\nby Mr. Hiroshi Okuda, the Chairman of the Japanese Federation of
\nEmployees' Association (Nikkeiren), was dispatched to Jakarta. A
\nproposal was put forth that included the establishment of better
\nties with Japan's Asian neighbors. Prime Minister Obuchi has
\nproclaimed the \"Obuchi Plan for Enhancing Human Resources
\nDevelopment and Human Resources Exchanges in East Asia\" at the
\nASEAN plus Japan, China, and Korea summit meeting held on the
\n28th of November. The proposed 10 point comprehensive program
\nwill enhance human resources development, and people-to-people
\nexchanges, in order to build up a human network in Asia. The
\nprogram consists of three pillars as follows: (a) Enhancing the
\ndevelopment of highly specialized human resources in the areas of
\nfinance and higher education, (b) Intensifying human resources
\nexchange at civil level, and (c) Strengthening the assistance for
\nstudent exchanges, which would be an investment for future
\nrelations with East Asia and Japan's intellectual contribution to
\nthe international community. The program encourages the
\ndevelopment of people-to-people exchange on a grassroots level
\nthrough the building of an ASEAN-Japan NGO Network. It would
\ninclude increased acceptance of foreign students from East Asia
\nto Japan through Japanese government scholarships.<\/p>\n
Japan has been contributing to the peaceful solution of the
\nEast Timor issue. Japan considered a strong Asian participation
\nin the multinational force in East Timor to be important, and
\nhence pledged around 100 million dollars to the UN Trust Fund in
\norder to facilitate the participation of other Asian development
\nnations in this force. Moreover, in order to aid East Timorese
\nrefugees in West Timor, the Government of Japan has disbursed two
\nmillion dollars as a first step in assistance to international
\nhumanitarian organizations. Further assistance is now being
\nconsidered. In addition to financial aid, since the end of
\nNovember, Japan is providing aircrafts of the Air Self Defense
\nForces for the purpose of transporting UNCHR relief materials
\nbetween Surabaya and Kupang.<\/p>\n
I have described some points regarding Japan-Indonesia
\ncooperation at the government level. But this constitutes only
\npart of our bilateral relationship. Thanks to the rapid
\ndevelopment of information technology and globalization, it has
\nbecome much easier to initiate international person-to-person
\ncontact at the grassroots level. I am convinced that it is this
\nsort of people-to-people exchange, together with intensified
\ncultural contacts and exchanges between the two peoples, that
\nbrings about deep mutual understanding, and it is expected that
\nsuch exchanges will contribute to the productive and mutually-
\nsupportive relationship between our two countries in the future.<\/p>",
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