Sukarno, Ratna Sari Dewi, dan Pampasan Perang: Hubungan Indonesia-Jepang 1951-1966

by Masashi Nishihara, Dean Praty R. (Translator)

This book treats the relationship between Japan and Indonesia, between an industrialized nation with sparse natural resources and a developing nation with rich natural resources, over the period from 1951 to 1966—from the time when the two nations began negotiating the terms of Japanese war reparations with Indonesia to the time when President Sukarno lost power after the 1965 abortive coup. First examined is the nature of their interdependency between 1950 and 1970, comparing their national interests, foreign policies, volumes of trade, flow of people, and frequency of mutual visits by high-ranking officials. Then, focusing on contacts between specific individuals and their roles as lobbyists during the fifteen-year period, the study covers the following issues: (1) formal negotiations on war reparations and the Peace Lobby (1951–1958); (2) the reparations funds of $223 million and the reparations lobbies (1958–1965); (3) Japan's role in the Indonesian-Malaysian conflict (1963–1966) and the Kawashima Lobby (1964–1965); (4) pro-Sukarnoist groups in Tokyo, their role in the West Irian problem of 1960–1962, and the impact of the 1965 coup upon them; (5) the anti-Sukarnoist lobby and its role in the Sumatra Rebellion of 1958 and in the post-1965 preeminence of the military; and (6) the Japanese government's reaction to the 1965 coup.
The research for this thesis is based primarily upon Indonesian and Japanese sources, including government reports, newspapers, popular magazines, biographies and memoirs, as well as academic works. It also draws heavily upon interviews conducted in Tokyo and Jakarta with diplomats, government officials, wartime officers, correspondents, and businessmen.
Among the major findings are: (1) the settlement of the prolonged negotiations over war reparations owes much to the Peace Lobby; (2) the reparations funds functioned as an important source of foreign aid to Indonesia while also serving to promote Japanese exports to Indonesia; (3) while the Kishi government used the funds to prop up the Sukarno regime, the latter used them to build "prestige projects" and to promote Sukarnoism; (4) the reparations lobbies, which allegedly involved top leaders in the two countries and through which Ratna Sari Dewi was introduced to Sukarno, functioned to tie the two countries together at a time when they were pursuing different ideologies; (5) both Prime Minister Ikeda Hayato and the ruling party's Vice-president Kawashima Shōjirō failed in their attempts to mediate the Indonesian-Malaysian disputes, but subsequent personal ties between former diplomat Shirahata Tomoyoshi and Foreign Minister Adam Malik and between Ambassador to Malaysia Kai Fumihiko and Prime Minister Abdul Rahman contributed to the beginning of the post-1965 peace negotiations between Indonesia and Malaysia; (6) the 1965 coup shattered the Sukarnoist group in Tokyo after it had earlier been successful in 1960–1962 in the West Irian incident; (7) the post-coup political upheaval also ended the political career of Dewi, who from 1964 to 1965 had acted as a link between Japanese and Indonesian interests and had competed with Subandrio in an attempt to keep Sukarno on her side and have him reach a reconciliation with the military; (8) the Japan Communist party believed in 1966 that the ultimate responsibility for the 1965 coup lay with Peking and subsequently broke its ties with that country partially for this reason; and (9) right-wing nationalists and former wartime officers supported the Sumatra Rebellion of 1958 and remained in contact with anticommunist and anti-Sukarnoist military leaders, providing the basis for the Japanese government's swift shift of support to the Suharto regime in March 1966.

Genres: Indonesian Literature, History

319 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1976

Reviews

[Rifqaiza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detailed reports about Sukarno's relationship with Japan. Spit some truth about how bad Sukarno handled things in his presidential era. Mostly contains ideology, money, business, Dewi and Sukarno's jargons.