Ambassador of Japan to Indonesia, Kenji Kanasugi, shared some inputs for Indonesia regarding the three prioritized issues raised during its G20 Presidency during the Antara International Corner, here on Wednesday.
In terms of the global health architecture, Ambassador Kanasugi stressed the importance of securing an equal and fair distribution of vaccines on a global scope during the COVID-19 pandemic. On top of that, he deemed it vital to enhance preparedness against the risk of pandemics in the future.
He also saw digital transformation as one important aspect contributing to economic development: After the pandemic hit, it became increasingly necessary to pay attention to it as people began working from home.
Ambassador Kanasugi said during the 2019 G20 Summit in Osaka, the primary focus of Japan was on the concept of free, trustworthy data flow, which was extensively studied and promoted. The concept emphasized the need to secure free data flow while also considering aspects such as privacy, security, and intellectual property rights.
Without those items, it would be impossible to realize free data flow in a secure manner, he added. Ambassador Kanasugi said he expected Indonesia to adopt or pay attention to this concept during the course of the 2022 G20, as it has been included as one of the prioritized issues.
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He further said that Japan is seeking to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, while Indonesia is trying to achieve it by 2060. Japan fully supports Indonesia's stance that every energy source and piece of technology could be utilized to achieve these ambitious goals, all while also taking into account the different capabilities of each country.
Kanasugi also highlighted the importance of achieving a good balance between supply, energy efficiency, and as well as environmental adaptability.
Japan and Indonesia are similar in some ways: both are archipelago countries and they are also dependent on fossil-based fuels. However, he said that it is important for them to manage and develop renewable energy.
Therefore, they must make the best use of existing sources of energy to reduce such dependence if they can. He cited biomass, ammonia, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide capture, utilization, and storage, among the sources which could be made use of to achieve the carbon neutrality target.
The ambassador opined that Japan is making steady progress in the right direction in terms of the energy transition.
At the current stage of G20, it is still too early to expect the final outcome, he said. However, they would like to see some tangible results pertaining to the three priority issues raised by the Presidency.
No G20 Presidency can resolve every issue on its own; everything is an ongoing progress, and Indonesia's efforts would be continued by India during the next G20, he said.
The ambassador added that Japan will give its full support to Indonesia throughout the G20 proceedings up to the summit in Bali. Indonesia is hosting the G20 in difficult circumstances, given the ongoing crises, including the geopolitical situation involving Russia and Ukraine, he said.
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