Sasakawa Foundation Meets Ganjar, Discusses Potential Disaster Sector Cooperation To Anti Radicalism

President of The Sasakawa Peace Foundation (SPF), Atsushi Sunami met with Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo at Puri Gedeh Service House, Wednesday (15/3/2023)

SEMARANG - President of The Sasakawa Peace Foundation (SPF), Atsushi Sunami met with the Governor of Central Java Ganjar Pranowo at the Puri Gedeh Office House, Wednesday, March 15. The two of them were involved in in in-depth discussions about marine issues and radicalism.

Arriving at 09.30 WIB, Sunami was immediately greeted by Ganjar. There was no awkward atmosphere in the meeting of the two for the first time. Among them are Sunami and Ganjar close to the Indonesian Ambassador to Japan, Heri Akhmadi.

In his introduction, Sunami said that he had often come to Indonesia, but this is his first time in Central Java. His visit, said Sunami, has been waiting for a long time, especially to meet Ganjar.

"I've been wanting to visit Central Java for a long time and meet Pak Ganjar, because as we know he is a very promising politician and leader in Indonesia at this time," he said.

In addition, the two of them became closer when they found out that Sunami was still actively teaching as a lecturer on campus where his wife had studied his Master, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (Grips) in Tokyo.

"I got a lot of in-depth discussions today, and how we can collaborate with various related issues in Central Java and in general Indonesia," he said.

According to Sunami, the cooperation between SPF and the Indonesian Government has been going on for a long time. Currently, especially the conditions after the Covid-19 Pandemic are gradually recovering, there are many potential collaborations that can be done again.

"After Covid, there will be many activities that will resume so we want to know exactly what we can do together with Indonesia and Japan," he said.

Sunami said the SPF is engaged in many fields. Not only about anti-radicalism and the prevention of terrorism, Sunami said that his party is also concerned about marine issues, especially illegal fishing.

"We have the same program, such as fisheries, namely fighting illegal fishing and marine, including talking about energy development and other issues," he said.

Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo said he was happy with the visit of SPF President Atsushi Sunami. Ganjar said the SPF had many good experiences, especially regarding the handling of conflicts, including in Poso, Sulawesi.

"They also want to know how our experience in dealing with conflict includes returning former convicts to society. There is a language that is quite good, so it is not deradicalization but repatriation. That is a good language for us to talk about," he explained.

The former member of the Indonesian House of Representatives said that there is a lot of potential for cooperation that can be done. On the other hand, Ganjar also discussed the potential for cooperation in the field of disaster management.

"I also protested disasters because of quite a lot of experience. He invited me to visit Japan to increase cooperation. Of course this is a very good invitation, I feel honored and we are preparing in more detail," he said.