September 9, 2026 | 06:47 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia's Youth and Sports Minister Erick Thohir has said pencak silat, Indonesia's traditional martial art, has great potential to serve as a bridge for sports diplomacy in strengthening relations between Indonesia and Japan.
According to him, cooperation in pencak silat could open wider space for interaction between the peoples of both countries, in line with efforts to enhance cooperation in youth and sports affairs.
"One thing we are offering is how we can cooperate on pencak silat," Thohir said at an event held at the official residence of the Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia on Tuesday, September 8, 2026.
Thohir said sports diplomacy holds important meaning, as relations between Indonesia and Japan need to be built not only through government-to-government cooperation, but also through direct people-to-people ties.
"Cooperation in youth and sports programs must continue to be enhanced, because this is a diplomatic relationship that greatly influences direct people-to-people relations," he said.
He said opportunities for sports cooperation between Indonesia and Japan had previously also been discussed between the Indonesian Olympic Committee (NOC) and Japan's ministry overseeing youth and sports affairs.
Besides pencak silat, fencing was also among the sports discussed as part of the potential cooperation.
Thohir expressed hope that the discussions could be followed up through concrete programs, including exchanges in the fields of sports and youth affairs.
He also said Indonesia could learn from Japan's experience in managing and hosting international sporting events, noting that Japan has hosted the Summer Olympics twice and the Asian Games three times.
According to him, this experience is one reason why strengthening sports cooperation with Japan is important, including through pencak silat, which he said carries not only a sporting dimension but is also part of Indonesian culture.
Thohir expressed hope that the cooperation could grow so that sports become one of the means to continuously strengthen ties between the people of Indonesia and Japan.
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