Mega charms Koizumi, not media<\/p>\n
Kornelius Purba, Staff writer, The Jakarta Post, Tokyo<\/p>\n
The Japanese Embassy in Jakarta recently invited The Jakarta Post
\nand a number of other Indonesian journalists to Tokyo during the
\nvisit of President Megawati Soekarnoputri. The following is the
\nreport.<\/p>\n
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Secretary General Taku
\nYamasaki, regarded as Japan's second most powerful politician
\nafter Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, tried to maintain his
\ncomposure when an Indonesian minister asked whether Yamasaki had
\never held a position in government.<\/p>\n
Koizumi had just introduced Yamasaki to his guests in the
\nentourage of visiting President Megawati Soekarnoputri, who sat
\nnext to Yamasaki at a dinner to honor her at the PM's official
\nresidence.<\/p>\n
The minister knows little about Yamasaki, who has strong
\nconnections with Indonesia and is well known among Japanese
\nbusinesses operating in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
He came to Jakarta in August to discuss four problematic
\nJapanese projects, including the controversial petrochemical
\nplant PT Chandra Asri in Banten and the Paiton power plant
\nproject in East Java.<\/p>\n
Japanese companies operating in Indonesia also sought
\nYamasaki's help in January when Muslim organizations protested
\nagainst the taste enhancer producer Ajinomoto, accused of using
\npork-related elements in its manufacturing process.<\/p>\n
The minister's ignorance about Yamasaki may reflect a general
\nattitude among Indonesian senior officials towards Japan despite
\nit being the country's largest donor and importer, including of
\ngas and crude oil, and largest investor.<\/p>\n
A bit of a personal approach, perhaps through prior briefing
\nto the President and high ranking officials on facing the
\nJapanese government and its people, may have helped compensate
\nfor this ignorance despite the overall success rate of Megawati's
\nvisit to both the United States and Japan.<\/p>\n
Koizumi attempted to use some Indonesian words in his address
\nduring the dinner but there was no such reciprocation on
\nMegawati's part. As a child, she had accompanied her father,
\nfirst president Sukarno, on visits to Japan.<\/p>\n
Regrettably she did not talk to Japanese journalists, who of
\ncourse came to know of her joint press conference with her host
\nU.S. President George W. Bush at the White House before visiting
\nTokyo.<\/p>\n
The media here felt that Megawati could have made more use of
\nher position as the leader of the country with the world's
\nlargest Muslim population to attract the attention of a public
\nlargely ignorant about Islam.<\/p>\n
So despite the welcome felt ahead of Megawati's visit, among
\nother things through the sale of candies wrapped in her image,
\nthe above situation may have contributed to the lack of coverage
\nof her five-day visit from Sept. 26 -- apart from the focus of
\nthe media on the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the U.S.<\/p>\n
The image of Sukarno remains strong among the Japanese,
\nperhaps partly because of his marriage to a Japanese woman, Naoko
\nNemoto, or Dewi Sukarno, in 1959.<\/p>\n
Pointing to the President's tight schedule, State
\nSecretary\/Cabinet Secretary Bambang Kesowo turned down interview
\nrequests from Japanese media, including major TV stations.<\/p>\n
Bambang may not have realized the strong influence of the
\nJapanese media in Indonesia. At least seven major media
\norganizations, including giant Yomiuri Shimbun, Asahi Shimbun and
\npublic TV station NHK have permanent correspondents in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"Of course politically America is very important to you,\" an
\nAsahi Shimbun journalist quipped. \"But in terms of your economic
\ninterests, our role is much more decisive. Why did your President
\nrefuse to talk to us?\"<\/p>\n
Unlike her predecessors, including Soeharto, who often came to
\nTokyo to ask for loans from Japan's government and private
\ncompanies, Megawati's mission was much more complicated. She was
\nhoping to persuade Japan, if possible, to reduce its 3.6
\ntrillion-yen outstanding loan to Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Koizumi strongly ruled out any hair cut scenario but offered
\nto provide more flexible and cheaper loans.<\/p>\n
Japanese officials, who briefed Koizumi before the meeting,
\nsaid Indonesia should realize that their government was no longer
\nin a position to meet Indonesia's every need, unlike in the
\nperiod of Soeharto's 32 year regime.<\/p>\n
\"Indonesia, which used to get what it asked for from Japan,
\nsometimes looks like a spoiled boy to us. But frankly, due to our
\ndifficult economic situation, your government should reduce its
\ndependence on us,\" said a Japanese official, who spoke on
\ncondition of anonymity.<\/p>\n
In trade, Japan is Indonesia's fifth largest source of imports
\nafter the U.S., China, South Korea and Taiwan. Last year,
\nIndonesia enjoyed a trade surplus of about $9 billion with Japan.<\/p>\n
Megawati's performance in two separate meetings with Japanese
\nbusiness leaders was, however, quite impressive. In her breakfast
\nmeeting with 60 members of Keidanren, a group of big Japanese
\ncompanies, she received many complaints about the situation in
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
But Megawati was prudent and avoided making any promises. She
\nasked her ministers, including Minister of Mines and Energy
\nPurnomo Yusgiantoro and Minister of State Enterprises Laksamana
\nSukardi to answer the questions.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Koizumi, Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa and
\nForeign Minister Makiko Tanaka reportedly told the Japanese envoy
\nto Indonesia Yukio Takeuchi that they were impressed by
\nMegawati's leadership.<\/p>\n
Megawati has proved her ability to persuade the Japanese
\ngovernment to provide more \"breathing space\" for her new
\ngovernment amid Japan's ailing economy.<\/p>\n
Her successful meeting with Bush was also crucial to convince
\nKoizumi on the need to support her government for the sake of
\ninternational security.<\/p>",
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