Jakarta. The Indonesian government recently commented on the ultraconservative Sanae Takaichi’s appointment as Japan’s new prime minister, saying that her political views could lead to some “priority changes”.

However, Jakarta said that they remained confident that the ties it had with Tokyo would remain robust or even grow stronger as the leadership change could open up new opportunities for cooperation. Takaichi made history after being the first woman to hold her office. The 64-year-old’s political views also officially set the country up for a rightward turn. 

Japan is among Indonesia’s major economic partners with multi-billion-dollar trade and investments. Abdul Kadir Jailani, the director-general for Asia Pacific affairs at the Foreign Ministry, recently commented on what Takaichi’s rise to power would mean for Indonesia-Japan’s decades-long diplomatic relations.

“I understand that many people see the [Japanese] government under the new prime minister as being more conservative. But Indonesia sees her [Takaichi’s] appointment as an opportunity to continue developing our ties,” Abdul Kadir told reporters in Jakarta on Wednesday.

The senior diplomat then went on to say how both countries share the “mutual interests of pursuing economic growth” amidst existing challenges.

“So, in response to the new prime minister’s political stance, I believe there may be a change in priorities. However, I don’t see major shifts in the policies. I doubt that would happen,” Abdul Kadir said.

To this day, President Prabowo Subianto has yet to announce a public congratulatory message to Takaichi. However, both leaders are expected to meet at the upcoming ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur. 

Takaichi’s predecessor Shigeru Ishiba became Prabowo’s first foreign leader guest in 2025. Prabowo at the time told Ishiba that his country remained “committed to continue the bilateral relations to a more concrete and effective path”, while inviting Tokyo to invest in Indonesia’s downstream industries of its abundant resources.

The government reported that Indonesia-Japan trade had dropped from $23.5 billion in January-August 2024 to nearly $21.5 billion over the same eight-month period in 2025. Indonesia’s surplus plummeted from $4.7 billion to around $1.6 billion within the same time frame, according to the Trade Ministry. Both countries are part of the world’s largest trade bloc, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, which greatly slashes the trade-related tariffs among its members. 

Japan was Indonesia’s fifth-largest international investor between January and September 2025, making up about 5.8 percent of the foreign direct investment inflows over the said period. Data showed that Japan had invested around $2.3 billion, just behind ASEAN chair Malaysia ($2.7 billion).

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