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The Japan Times (21 November 2019)

Japan has offered to assist Indonesia in accomplishing its ambitious plan of relocating the national capital to the forests of Borneo.

The offer was made during a closed-door meeting between Hiroto Izumi, special adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs Luhut Pandjaitan on Tuesday evening, a source with knowledge of the meeting said Wednesday.

Along with some Japanese businessmen, Izumi is on a three-day visit to Indonesia from Tuesday as part of a delegation led by former Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda.

In August, Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo decided to move the capital away from congested Jakarta, on Java Island, to a location in East Province, in eastern Borneo, suggesting it could happen within five years.

The new capital will be between Samarinda, the province’s capital, and Balikpapan, its largest city, located some 90 kilometers to the south. Both are situated near the east coast of the world’s third-largest island, over 1,200 km away from Jakarta.

Read more at: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/11/21/national/japan-indonesia-help-new-capital/#.XdY16VczY2w