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On June 23, 2022, Waseda University welcomed the Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to Japan, H.E. Heri Akhmadi, who visited the School of Commerce to give a presentation on the trade relations between Japan and Indonesia.  

This special session, organized by Professor Kazuhiko Yokota and his seminar students, was a rare opportunity for cultural exchange and served to further strengthen the relationship and cultural understanding between the countries. About 350 students and guests gathered in a lecture hall in Building 15 where the stage was set with colorful posters, traditional Indonesian percussion instruments, and props, hinting at a unique experience to come. 

The session started out with Professor Yokota drawing attention to the life-sized taxidermized Komodo dragon at the front, a monitor lizard originating from the island of Indonesia which was brought in from the Indonesian embassy in Japan. He invited the students to come closer to take a look afterwards since it was a rare specimen, supposedly the only one in Japan.  

Ambassador Akhmadi then took the podium and proceeded to talk about the past, present, and future of trade relations between Japan and Indonesia. He touched on topics such as the diversity of Indonesia, shared partnerships, the current import and export situation, import opportunities in Indonesia for the Japanese market, and explained how increasing the number of imports from Indonesia would be beneficial for both countries.  

Afterwards, when asked about the presentation, Minami Yamomoto from the School of Commerce commented, “Through the Ambassador’s talk, I learned that although Japan and Indonesia have always had strong ties…there is potential for further connection through trade.” 

 “Even though Indonesia is geographically close to Japan, there were many things I didn’t know about the country… It was very stimulating to hear a speech with presentation slides detailing trade matters such as the present import and export situation, Covid-19’s influence on it, and Japan’s dependency on China,” added Yoshifumi Tonogaki, a fourth-year student. 

The presentation was followed by the performance of an original song medley by a group of international students from the Waseda Indonesian Students Association. Filling the room with their harmonies, guitar, and drums, the students introduced their diverse culture through music.  

 Raffael Victor Vanuel, one of the students involved in putting together the cultural medley explained, “We performed 7 or 8 songs, spanning from the Western part of Indonesia until the most Eastern part in order geographically; songs from Aceh, Sumatra, Java, Bornea, Sulawesi and Papua… and we arranged it into a medley. So when you hear it, it’s a different feel every time. Sometimes the tempo goes up and slows down because it’s all the traditional songs from different parts of Indonesia… the different parts of Indonesia have different culture, and we tried to incorporate that into the medley… There are many native languages in Indonesia, about over 700, and that’s what we used in the songs.”   

Wessley Tjahaja, one of the lead singers, shared after the performance, “Hearing the applause really lifted my spirits up. It’s nice to be appreciated, especially our culture.” 

Fourth-year student Minami Yamomoto added, “Even though I do not understand any Indonesian, the rhythm and melody of the songs conveyed a fun feeling. It made me think that music is truly universal.” 

After the song medley, there was a traditional wooden puppet performance, called Wayang Golek, originating from West Java that uses 3D puppets to tell a story. One performer did the narration and controlled the dolls, while the other members helped to create the mood using drums, gongs, and singing. The team of four, consisting of both Indonesian and Japanese members, entertained the class by narrating the story of a character Kyuritaro, who was born from a buried cucumber seed, making a pun from the word cucumber which is called “kyuri” in Japanese. They creatively localized the performance by bringing in Waseda jokes, Japanese puns and Kimetsu no Yaiba (Demon Slayer) references. The exaggerated fighting scenes and interactive style of storytelling held the attention of everyone in the classroom.  

 The class ended on a high note with a surprise for all the students who received a packet of Indonesian instant ramen (mee goreng) as a gift. There was also an extra surprise for some students who won a bag of coffee and other snacks, if they had a hidden sticker under their tables.  

Commerce student Ayaka Koike commented “It was really fun to have this opportunity for cultural exchange after such a long time, especially since we haven’t been able to go overseas due to Covid-19. There are not many opportunities within Japan to experience Indonesian culture, even through media, even more so in person, so it was quite a new experience…” 

 Waseda University would like to express a big thank you to Ambassador Akhmadi and his team for taking the time to visit the university and talk to our students, as well as Professor Yokota and the students who helped prepare for this wonderful cultural experience! 

To read more about Ambassador Akhmadi’s meeting with University President Aiji Tanaka, click here.