The three-day trip, with an ASEAN-Japan Summit commemorating 50 years of friendship as its centerpiece, is especially important for Japan, analysts say, as the country grapples with the geopolitical implications of China’s increasing influence and assertiveness in the region.

The timing may be no less strategic for Jokowi, who plans to make another IKN sales pitch to one of Jakarta’s largest foreign direct investors with less than a year left in office as the capital relocation project continues to be hampered by lackluster funding.

While in Tokyo, Jokowi will cochair the special leaders’ summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Saturday. On Sunday, he will attend another leaders’ assembly at the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC), before conducting a bilateral meeting with Kishida on Monday, with economic cooperation as the overarching theme.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lalu M. Iqbal told reporters earlier this week that Japan’s potential “support” for Indonesia’s energy transition, green infrastructure and the IKN project would be discussed during the bilateral dialogue. The development of Jakarta’s East-West Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line would also be addressed, he said.

Read also: 2024 election may worsen IKN’s appeal for investors

Jokowi’s plan to relocate the capital city to Nusantara in East Kalimantan has faced major funding hurdles in recent years, particularly after the withdrawal of Japan’s Softbank Group left a US$30 billion hole in the city’s $32.6 billion total budget.

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