The Role of Japan Foundation in Supporting Japan-Indonesia Relations in the Area of Arts and Cultures (2017-2020)

Abstract

After the lost from World War II Japan suffer not only from economic attrition but also diplomacy wise specially Indonesia due the their past agresive action during the war to gain significant upper hands from the allied forces. During the reconstruction era, Japan established the Japan Foundation to serve as an institution to restore and maintaining relations with nations across the globe that mainly focus on culture and education. This research is conducted to see an analysis on the role of the Japan Foundation in supporting Japan-Indonesia relations in the area of arts and culture from period 2017 to 2020. This research is conducted with qualitative descriptive and examined the role with several theories such as public diplomacy as a general approach and cultural theory as more a focused to understand the subject. This research aimed to identify the contribution of the Japan Foundation in contributing to restore and improving the relations between Japan and Indonesia. Therefore, the role of the Japan Foundation is to be the legal representative of the Japan Government that conducting and cooperation with non-governmental organization to create programs and events around culture and arts to not only introducing Japanese culture but also shaping Indonesian public opinion on Japan image.