Japanese businessmen here to seek out local products

JP/afs

JAKARTA (JP): A delegation of 20 Japanese manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers and importers started a three-day mission here on Tuesday to import more Indonesian products.

Members of the delegation, led by the vice president of the "Do It Yourself" (DIY) Industry Association, Toyoji Miyakawa (photo above, left), are to shop at the 1998 Indonesian Export Products Exhibition at the Jakarta Fairground.

The exhibition is scheduled to be opened by President B.J. Habibie on Wednesday. It will run through Sunday.

Miyakawa told journalists here that his delegation would explore more opportunities with Indonesian exporters and help them to market their products in Japan.

"I'm confident that more and more Indonesian products will be able to enter the Japanese market," he told a press briefing.

At the briefing, Miyakawa was accompanied by (left to right) interpreter Kumiko, the Japan External Trade Organization's (JETRO) Jakarta chapter head Hiroaki Taneoka and DIY Industry Association director Kenji Uemura.

Taneoka said the trade mission, sponsored by JETRO, reflected Japan's continuing strong interest to trade with Indonesia.

Besides shopping at the exhibition, members of the mission are also to meet Indonesian firms looking to export to Japan, he said. JETRO was arranging such a meeting.

In a time of slumping domestic demand, Taneoka said, JETRO would continue to assist Indonesian firms to export their products to Japan.

As Japanese consumers were quality-minded, JETRO was helping Indonesian firms improve the quality of their products through technical assistance, he said.

Thus far, JETRO business advisors have been attached to some 90 Indonesian firms.

"Our main target is to help Indonesian firms increase their export volume and boost the quality of export products," Taneoka said. (29)