Japan, Indonesia to sign crisis loan pact

Agence France-Presse
First Posted 14:07:00 07/06/2009

TOKYO, Japan—Japan is to agree to provide some $15.6 billion in emergency loans to Indonesia in the event of a severe shortage of foreign currency, according to a report Monday.

The 1.5-trillion-yen deal, created under a new assistance scheme announced in May, was the first of a series of agreements that Tokyo planned to conclude with a number of Asian nations, the Nikkei business daily reported.

Officials from Indonesia's finance ministry would visit their Japanese counterparts in Tokyo as early as Monday to sign the deal, the newspaper said.

The emergency assistance would take the form of a currency swap and was aimed at helping Indonesia cope with a shortage of foreign currency in the event of a severe financial crisis, the Nikkei said.

The deal would allow Indonesia to convert the loan into dollars if it faces a shortage of the US currency, the newspaper said.

Providing yen-denominated loans was also aimed at promoting a greater use of the Japanese currency worldwide, it added.

Japan planned to sign similar agreements with the Philippines and Thailand, the Nikkei said.

Japan plans for new missile

A Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) interceptor missile launcher at the Defense Ministry headquarters(AFP file photo)

The Age
Tokyo
July 6, 2009

Japan is considering introducing a new type of missile defence system to counter airborne attacks, notably from North Korea, according to a media report.

Japan has two types of defence against airborne attacks — the warship-installed Standard Missile 3 and the Patriot Advanced Capability 3, a surface-to-air missile.

But the two systems will not be enough to cover the nation's territory completely, the Mainichi daily said yesterday.

The Defence Ministry has plans for another surface-to-air missile, the US-developed Terminal High Altitude Area Defence system.