Japan woos Indonesia with stealth frigates ahead of Prabowo-Takaichi talks

2026.03.23 00:20 Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto waves during the 28th Asean-Japan Summit in Kuala Lumpur last year. Photo: AP Indonesia’s president is heading to Tokyo – and Japan has eight stealth frigates, a mineral deal and a seat at the emperor’s lunch table waiting for him. Prabowo Subianto is due to arrive on March 29 for a three-day state visit, his first trip to Japan since taking office in October 2024. He will hold talks with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and dine with Emperor Naruhito, according to a statement published by Tokyo’s Foreign Ministry on March 13. Analysts say the agenda will be dominated by defence, resource security and China. “Prabowo’s visit will be a great opportunity for the two countries to further strengthen the comprehensive and strategic partnership,” the ministry statement said. Japanese Emperor Naruhito waves to well‑wishers from the balcony of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo last month. Photo: EPA Last Sunday, Indonesia and Japan signed two memorandums of cooperation on critical minerals and nuclear energy on the sidelines of the Indo-Pacific Energy Security Ministerial and Business Forum in Tokyo. These were a “deliberate pre-summit signal” that both sides had “something concrete to show”, said Ayu Rachman, a visiting research fellow at the Japan Institute of International Affairs. “Expect these to dominate the joint communique” afterwards, the Indonesian researcher said. Though Prabowo met Takaichi on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea last October, analysts say the coming Tokyo meeting carries greater weight. In January last year, Prabowo hosted Takaichi’s predecessor, Shigeru Ishiba, in Jakarta, where the two sides discussed areas ranging from defence to infrastructure development. This visit is set to push that cooperation further. Tokyo has been deepening security ties across Southeast Asia through joint exercises, dialogues and capacity-building. With Tokyo having ease

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