Sri Sultan HB X Receives A Merit Star From The Emperor Of Japan

The Governor of the Special Region of Yogyakarta Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X received the Star of Merit award from the Japanese Emperor Naruhito "The Order of Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star"/ANTARA HO Pemda DIY

YOGYAKARTA - The Governor of the Special Region of Yogyakarta Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X received the Star of Merit award from the Emperor of Japan Naruhito "The Order of Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star" at the residence of the Japanese Ambassador, South Jakarta.

The award was handed over by the Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia Kanasugi Kenji to Sri Sultan, witnessed by GKR Hemas and Ambassador Kanasugi Yasuko's wife, according to an official statement from the Yogyakarta Regional Government in Yogyakarta.

The Star of Service was given because Sri Sultan was considered to have played a major role in the creation of friendly relations as well as strengthening cooperation and cultural exchange between Indonesia and Japan.

"We hope that this award will further enhance relations and interactions between the Japanese and Indonesian people in line with mutual understanding between the two countries," Sri Sultan said in his remarks quoted by Antara, Tuesday, June 28.

The friendly cooperation between Japan and Indonesia, according to the Sultan, has been going on for a long time, especially the cooperation between the DIY Regional Government and the Kyoto and Yamanashi Prefectural Governments.

In addition, there are also collaborations with Japanese organizations such as JICA, J-CLAIR, Nara Congress, and Sumitomo Forestry.

"The sister province cooperation with Kyoto Prefecture has been established since 1985 and is the first and longest cooperation between local governments in Indonesia and local governments abroad, not only in Yogyakarta, but also in Indonesia," said Sultan.

From this cooperation, according to him, various implementations and innovations have been born, especially in the fields of arts and culture, education, science, technology, tourism, and industry.

As a follow-up, he said, in 2020, the 35th anniversary of the DIY-Kyoto collaboration in Yogyakarta and Kyoto was scheduled to be held in 2020, as well as Sakura Science activities, sending Yogyakarta students to Kyoto.

However, all of these activities were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Apart from Kyoto, Sultan continued, the Yogyakarta Regional Government has also collaborated with Yamanashi Prefecture since 2016 and has produced many activities in the agricultural sector.

The Sultan also expressed his gratitude to the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for the assistance in the initial assessment of the aerotropolis area of Yogyakarta International Airport.

This includes the participation of the Japan Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (J-CLAIR) which has facilitated communication between the DIY Regional Government and relevant stakeholders in Japan.

The King of the Yogyakarta Palace also appreciated the steps taken by Sumitomo Forestry to carry out a rehabilitation project for the Paliyan Wildlife Sanctuary in Gunungkidul since 2015 as an effort to preserve forests and ecosystems.

"We would like to thank all parties who have supported increasing international interaction and cooperation between Yogyakarta in particular and Indonesia in general, and the Japanese people," he said.

Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia Kanasugi Kenji said that since being crowned the King of the Yogyakarta Palace in 1989 and as the Governor of DIY in 1998, Sri Sultan HB X has assumed a heavy responsibility and continues to strive for the development of DIY.

The Japanese ambassador recalled the time when His Majesty the Emperor and Empress of Japan visited Yogyakarta in 1991.

"His Majesty at that time had not served as Governor, but as Sultan, but gave an impressive welcome while introducing traditional Javanese culture to the Emperor and Empress at the Yogyakarta Palace," he said.

Likewise, Sri Sultan was judged to have given a very good welcome to the visit of Prince and Princess Akishino in 2008 at the Yogyakarta Palace in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Indonesia.

"Thanks to Your Majesty's kindness and support, the visit was able to promote exchanges in various fields between the two countries," said Kanasugi Kenji.