Jakarta. The Indonesian Embassy in Tokyo recently held talks with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police to protect Indonesian nationals in the Japanese capital.

According to the embassy, there are over 173,000 Indonesians in Japan as of June 2024. The number is set to increase over the coming years. As many as 500,000 Indonesian tourists traveled to Japan last year. The Indonesian Embassy in Tokyo met with officials of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Tuesday. They will work together to inform Indonesians in the Asian country about the legal provisions. This way, they can prevent Indonesians from violating the local laws.

“The Japanese police are responsible for maintaining security, including the foreigners living in Japan. Our embassy’s job is to protect Indonesians in Japan. So we will work together with the Japanese Police to share information to Indonesians about Japan's legal provisions,”the embassy’s representative Muhammad Al Aula was quoted as saying in a recent press statement.

“We will also remind our fellow Indonesian citizens to respect the laws and local culture,” he said.

The police’s deputy director Hironori Tanaka said that Indonesians had been quite active in Japan. They even actively participated in the Japan-Indonesia Friendship Festival in Yoyogi Park, which saw almost 100,000 people. Despite the large crowd, the event managed to take place smoothly. Chief Inspector Nakano Masahiro said that the police would coordinate with their teams in other prefectures, considering how widespread Indonesians are in Japan. They will also work together with local Indonesian diaspora groups. They will also reach out to Indonesian citizens through various social media channels.