Tokyo. Indonesia and Japan have strengthened bilateral ties in the tourism sector by signing a Memorandum of Cooperation during President Prabowo Subianto’s official visit to Tokyo on Monday.

The agreement provides a formal framework for tourism collaboration between the two countries and is also seen as a step to mitigate global geopolitical uncertainties affecting the sector.

The memorandum was signed by Tourism Minister Widiyanti Putri Wardhana and Japan’s Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Yasushi Kaneko, following two years of negotiations.

Widiyanti said Japan remains one of Indonesia’s key strategic partners. In 2025, more than 380,000 Japanese tourists visited Indonesia, up 12% from the previous year, with an average stay of nearly eight days.

The agreement covers a range of strategic areas, including joint promotion, development of wellness tourism, gastronomy, and marine tourism, as well as strengthening community-based tourism through village destinations.

Both countries also agreed to enhance private sector collaboration, expand air connectivity, increase tourism investment opportunities, and develop human resources through training and knowledge exchange programs.

Widiyanti stressed the importance of improving flight connectivity, particularly by optimizing Tokyo-Jakarta and Tokyo-Bali routes, while exploring potential new routes to destinations such as Yogyakarta and other regions.

In line with President Prabowo’s program, the partnership will also support the development of a skilled tourism workforce for international deployment.

As a concrete follow-up, Indonesia and Japan will establish a Joint Working Group to formulate action plans and monitor implementation on an ongoing basis. The collaboration is expected to strengthen people-to-people ties while generating mutually beneficial economic growth for both countries.

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