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Japan closes year of uncertainty with well wishes for Emperor Akihito

Long live the emperor: Vice President Jusuf Kalla (left) proposes a toast with Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia Yasuaki Tanizaki (center) and Japanese Ambassador for ASEAN Kazuo Sunaga during a ceremony to celebrate Emperor Akihito’s 83rd birthday in Jakarta on Tuesday

Tama Salim (The Jakarta Post)
Wed, December 7, 2016

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Japan closes year of uncertainty  with well wishes for Emperor Akihito

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span class="inline inline-center">Long live the emperor: Vice President Jusuf Kalla (left) proposes a toast with Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia Yasuaki Tanizaki (center) and Japanese Ambassador for ASEAN Kazuo Sunaga during a ceremony to celebrate Emperor Akihito’s 83rd birthday in Jakarta on Tuesday. Akihito was born on Dec. 23, 1933.(JP/Dhoni Setiawan)

Japan held an early celebration for the 83rd birthday of its reigning Emperor Akihito in Jakarta on Tuesday, with hundreds of guests, including Vice President Jusuf Kalla, flocking to the Mulia Hotel in South Jakarta for a jovial night of wining and dining.

The guests also included National Planning Agency (Bappenas) chief Bambang Brodjonegoro and Transportation Minister Budi Karya, as well as foreign luminaries from the European Union, Peru, Georgia, Russia and elsewhere.

The guests were treated to a wide variety of traditional Japanese food such as sushi, sashimi, udon and tempura, as well as a Japanese green tea specifically imported from Shizuoka prefecture.

As an added bonus, Indonesian singer-on-the-rise Tulus entertained the crowd with his soothing voice and even showed off his language skills with a song in Japanese.

Opening the event, Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia Yasuaki Tanizaki described the relations between Japan and Indonesia as based on a strong kinship, which he says is an important asset for weathering the uncertainty of recent times.

“I am quite certain that even in the midst of growing uncertainty in the world, the partnership we have, which is built on a strong basis of friendship, will help overcome the challenges we face,” the envoy said late on Tuesday.

He revealed that upwards of 1 million Indonesians are learning the Japanese language and, in keeping with increasing investments by Japanese firms in Indonesia, there are also more than a million Indonesians working in Japanese companies.

Japan’s direct investment into Indonesia is poised to hit its highest level in three years as business confidence improves with new domestic sectors and upstream industries being targeted by the economic powerhouse.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) from Japan to Indonesia is expected to amount to between US$3.5 billion and $4 billion by the end of the year, according to the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

In the past five years, Japan has invested more than $2 billion per year in Indonesia, except in 2013 when automobile firms Yamaha and Honda poured in $4.7 billion.

Japanese investors are currently working on several major projects in Indonesia, including the $3 billion Patimban Port project in West Java, which is still in the pipeline and will serve as an alternative to the country’s congested main trade hub, Priok Port, as well as the ongoing $1.4 billion MRT project in Jakarta.

The government will also offer the upcoming 200-kilometer Jakarta-Surabaya high-speed train project to Japan, after the country lost to China in a bid to construct Indonesia’s first high-speed railway to connect Jakarta and Bandung. That project is worth $5.1 billion.

Vice President Kalla conveyed his optimism that relations between the partners would only improve. “Hopefully relations between Indonesia and Japan will be smoother going forward,” he said.

Emperor Akihito was born on Dec. 23, 1933, at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, the eldest son and fifth child of Emperor Hirohito and Empress Kojun.

Being heir apparent since birth, Akihito was formally made crown prince on Nov. 10, 1952.

On July 16, national broadcaster NHK reported that Akihito was pondering abdication, citing health reasons. The last time a reigning emperor abdicated was in 1817.

The Imperial Household Agency denied any such plan existed, but Akihito gave a rare televised address on Aug. 8 emphasizing both his old age and health.

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