Japan mulls issuing travel warning for tourists to Bali

I Wayan Juniartha, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar

Due to an increasing number of sexual assaults on Japanese women in Bali over the last few months, the Japanese government was considering the possibility of issuing an official travel advisory for the island, a senior Japanese diplomat revealed here on Monday.

"We are currently considering that possibility, and there are several signs that the travel advisory will be issued. This will no doubt cause significant losses to both Bali and Japan," the Japanese Consul in Bali, Kaoru Hata, stated here on Monday evening.

If the travel advisory, which would warn Japanese citizens to avoid traveling to Bali, eventually materializes, it would be a devastating blow for the island's important tourist industry.

The island has already seen a sharp decrease in foreign tourists following the tragic Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S.

For years, Japan had always been one of the Balinese tourist industry's largest and most lucrative markets, with the number of Japanese visitors always ranked in the top two.

On March 17, 2002, the number of Japanese visitors stood at 4,148 out of a total 20,598 foreign visitors vacationing on the island.

The sexual assaults would also tarnish the island's long- standing reputation as a safe and friendly tourist destination.

"The increase in the number of such attacks targeting female Japanese visitors has been tremendous. In the last couple of months, there have been five reported sexually-motivated assaults. I am very concerned about this phenomenon. And so is my government and the Japanese media back home.

Some of the victims had reported the assaults they suffered to the Indonesian Embassy in Tokyo," Kaoru said.

Earlier in the morning, Kaoru paid a visit to local police headquarters to personally and directly bring the matter up with Bali Police chief Brig. Gen. Budi Setyawan. Kaoru asked the police to pay serious attention to the problem, and to act swiftly against the perpetrators.

"Once, a female Japanese visitor was raped in Ubud. The police identified the suspect, but, unfortunately, up to now he has never been arrested or detained. The police should not act hesitantly in investigating these cases," Kaoru said.

Bali Police spokesperson Adj. Sr. Com. Yatim Suyatmo confirmed the meeting, adding that the Bali Police chief had promised to seriously look into the matter.

"The chief has instructed the heads of the detective and intelligence divisions to immediately conduct a thorough investigation of these cases," Yatim said, adding that the assaults ranged from sexual molestation to rape.

The most recent reported case involved thirty-year-old Ketut Suadnyana, who on March 8, 2002 allegedly assaulted and sexually- harassed twenty-five-year-old Herry Hobata.

When Hobata resisted his advances, Suadnyana reportedly resorted to force, gripping Hobata's neck and trying to strangle her. One week after the assault, Hobata finally reported it to the police.