Yasuo Fukuda (JP/Seto Wardhana)

When ASEAN was only just established 50 years ago, Japan already began to foster a relationship with the alliance of Southeast Asian countries. Today, five decades on, a former Japanese leader has pledged that the region could count on Japan to remain a loyal ally for the next half century.

Former prime minister Yasuo Fukuda said Friday that economic relations between the two sides were very strong, with more than 10,000 Japanese companies based in the region, including the automobile industry that is present in Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines.

“In a way, ASEAN is supporting Japan’s economy,” Fukuda said in a speech at a forum titled “Contributions of Japan-Indonesia Relations towards Further Development of ASEAN.”

In people-to-people relations, ASEAN and Japan continue to be close partners, with more than 70,000 ASEAN students studying in Japan at present, while the number of tourists to the East Asian country has reached 2.5 million a year.

Fukuda is also a son of former Japan prime minister Takeo Fukuda, who held the office from 1976 to 1978.

In 1977, Fukuda senior promulgated the “Fukuda Doctrine” that was defined by several guiding principles, including that Japan would not become a military power, that it would build a relationship of mutual confidence and trust with Southeast Asian countries in a wide range of fields and that Japan would cooperate with the ASEAN and its member states as an equal partner.

The doctrine was introduced in Manila during a trip to several ASEAN countries.

The younger Fukuda said that, 40 years after his father issued the doctrine, Japan had kept its promise and walked side by side with ASEAN in its journey toward development.

Japan is on alert as the crisis on the Korean peninsula is showing no signs of ending anytime soon.

After numerous North Korean missiles flew through Japanese airspace recently, the Japanese government has asked ASEAN countries to pile pressure on the rogue state.

During a meeting in the Philippines that was attended by defense ministers of ASEAN members states and partner countries earlier this week, Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Odonera said the crisis was not only a risk for the Far East but also posed a serious challenge to the international community.

At Friday’s forum, Fukuda suggested that ASEAN countries continue their efforts to maintain peace in the Southeast Asia region.

“I believe that ASEAN will expand its influence as an anchor of stability and development in the region,” he said.

He also praised the bilateral relationship between Indonesia and Japan that would celebrate its 60th anniversary in 2018, emphasizing that it had evolved into one where the two sides had mutual understanding in tackling regional and global issues.

Meanwhile, former People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) speaker Ginandjar Kartasasmita encouraged Japan to increase investment in the archipelago, saying that the country could immediately benefit from Indonesia’s large domestic market and access to the ASEAN market.

He went on to say that, in addition to being an understanding partner in development, Indonesia also considered Japan a model for economic development, citing Japan’s success in transforming a rice-based economy into an industrial superpower.

“It is an inspiration for Indonesia’s economic development strategy, as Japan succeeded while maintaining a flexible industrial structure and its traditions and culture,” said Ginanjar, an alumnus of the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology.

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