Gerindra Jakarta Apologises After Posting Djakarta Ennichi Poster, Denies 'Hijacking' Event

JAKARTA - Gerindra Jakarta’s provincial branch has issued an apology regarding the controversy over the cancellation of the 2026 Djakarta Ennichi Japanese cultural festival, scheduled to take place at Lapangan Banteng in Central Jakarta on 23-24 May 2026. The apology was posted on the branch’s official Instagram account on Sunday (24 May 2026). The controversy arose after the branch’s official account shared a music event poster with the same time, location, and performers as the Djakarta Ennichi festival, leading to public speculation that the festival had been cancelled in favour of a Gerindra-organised event. In clarification, Gerindra Jakarta stated the post was intended to inform the public about the Djakarta Ennichi festival as part of Jakarta’s public activities. However, they acknowledged an error in communication for not clearly stating the event organisers. ‘We recognise that by not clearly identifying the event organisers, we caused public misunderstanding that the activity was organised by Gerindra Jakarta’s branch,’ the branch stated. Gerindra Jakarta also denied any intention to take over or ‘hijack’ the event, saying the post was solely to share information without competing or copying. They admitted a ‘serious oversight’ for omitting the official event name and said the controversy would be used to improve future public communications for greater precision and clarity. ‘This difficult decision was made due to technical and operational issues affecting the event’s overall preparedness, preventing us from delivering a safe, comfortable, and optimal festival,’ the organisers stated. Observations at Lapangan Banteng on Saturday morning showed the festival area was quiet.