In a meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo yesterday, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced that he had allocated a low-interest loan of 50 billion yen ($ 473 million) to the country as a measure to deal with the COVID-19 epidemic.
The offer was in addition to Japanese loans last February, amounting to 32 billion yen with the same purpose.
For information, Indonesia recorded more than 360,000 cases of infection and 12,000 deaths due to coronavirus.
The meeting discussed the resumption of bilateral business between Japan and Indonesia, as well as a meeting between the respective defense and foreign ministers in the near future.
Suga also expressed hope that the situation in the South China Sea will be safe and stable again.
He supported Southeast Asia's efforts to achieve peace in the South China Sea by highlighting the concept of Japanese regional cooperation in opposing China, "Indo-Pacific free and open".
Suga's visit to Southeast Asia proves the region's importance to Japan. It is also his first visit since replacing Shinzo Abe in September.
Before arriving in Indonesia, Suga visited Hanoi, Vietnam and met with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
