Sayonara to the Shinkansen

Yasuaki Tanizaki normally has lunch at a Japanese restaurant at the Grand Hyatt in Jakarta. However, the lunch on September 21 was a special occasion. The Japanese ambassador to Indonesia went on the invitation of Rini Soemarno, the minister of state-owned enterprises (SOEs). "I invited them for lunch," said Rini, telling Tempo the story in her office on Wednesday last week.

Tanizaki considered the invitation more than just a courtesy meal. This was the first time he personally met Rini to discuss the Japanese proposal for the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway project. Several news media had reported on Rini's supposedly close ties with Japan's competitor, a consortium from China. "We took advantage of this opportunity to ask about guidelines for the new high-speed train project," said Yoshiko Kijima, economic affairs attach at the Japanese embassy in Jakarta, via e-mail last week.