Japan offers $1.1m scholarships to RI

JAKARTA: The Japanese government has been offering 90 scholarships to Indonesian government officials and university lecturers to pursue their higher education in Japan.

These scholarships, mostly in social sciences and information technology, are part of Japan's "The Project for Human Resources Development Scholarship" program.

Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia Yutaka Iimura and director general of Asia Pacific and Africa at the ministry of foreign affairs Makarim Wibisono signed an agreement on the scholarships in Jakarta on Thursday .

Yutaka said under the human resources development scholarship, which will be effective for three years, Japan - one of the biggest donors of Indonesia -- will extend grant assistance of 117 million yen (about US$1.1 million) to 30 Indonesians this year to cover their tuition fees and other personal expenditures.

"Indonesia is one of the most important partners of Japan, so by inviting them (students) to Japan, we can contribute to the development of the Indonesian human resources," Yataka told The Jakarta Post.

He said the scholarship recipients can join in educational institutes like Hitotsubashi University, Waseda University and Hiroshima University. -- JP