TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The government of Japan ensured that ongoing investment projects in Indonesia, such as the extension of the MRT line, will continue. The Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia, Kenji Kanasugi, said that Japanese investment will continue amid the Delta variant of the coronavirus that has been causing high resurgence of daily cases in Indonesia.

"This is indeed a very difficult and severe situation. However, existing projects will continue, and we hope that there will be a brighter future," Kanasugi said at a joint press conference with the International Labor Organization (ILO), Tuesday, July 6.

Kanasugi said the Japanese government continues to improve security and safety for workers to prevent transmissions in the work environment. One of them is through faster vaccine rollouts, both for Japanese workers as well as by assisting Indonesia with vaccine doses.

Vaccination is expected to increase workers' productivity as well as strengthen investment and trade relations between Japan and Indonesia. In addition, the Japanese government encourages the prevention of Covid-19 in other forms in the workplace to protect the lives of workers.

Despite ensuring the continuation of existing projects, Kanasugi admitted new investments are declining in value. Since the beginning of the 2020 pandemic, Kenji said the value of Japanese investment in Indonesia has shown a downward trend.

According to Kenji, the investment downtrend was due to investors' limited mobilization. "To be able to make big investment decisions, people have to come to Indonesia and meet with partners and the people here, face to face. But they could not because of the pandemic," Kenji said.

Read: Japan Likely to Extend COVID-19 Curbs in Tokyo as Infections Rise

Francisca Christy Rosana