Last week, Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Masayuki Naoshima, visited Indonesia as part of his international duties for a bilateral meeting between the two countries.

Naoshima arrived at Indonesia’s energy ministry headquarter on Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan, Jakarta after meeting President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the State Palace.

He was scheduled to meet Indonesia’s Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Darwin Zahedy Saleh to discuss fundamental energy issues between Japan and Indonesia at 14:30 p.m. at Darwin’s office on the second floor. The meeting was scheduled to be held for 30 minutes, but after 30 minutes of waiting the host had not appeared.

Naoshima and his entourage finally decided to leave the ministry office because at 15:00 p.m., Naoshima had another meeting with Industry Minister MS Hidayat. Naoshima reportedly left with an upset expression on his face. He was disappointed that he had failed to meet Minister Darwin. 

I have been living in Japan for almost three years. In the beginning, I was shocked when I learned
about the values and principles of the Japanese.

I was surprised because they are somehow so different from Indonesian values and principles. But, as I came to know what advantages lay behind the principles, I felt very thankful to the Japanese for teaching such great principles.

Japan, being one of the leading countries in the world, is a country that has a long history. During that long period of time, the Japanese adopted many extraordinary values and principles which have lasted until now. Being punctual is one of those principles.

In Japan, being punctual is a habit. Japan is a country that is concerned with well-scheduled lifestyles.
Buses, trains have fixed schedules of the times they will arrive and depart. They arrive precisely on time, which is still rare to see in Indonesia.  

Japan is said to be one of the fastest countries in the world for the rhythm of its daily life. Everything is well-structured and well-organized. It is arguably easy to say, “I will reach there at 10:23” or “The goods will arrive at 19:55” or “It will take three days to repair your computer” in Japan, while, in contrast, it’s more familiar to hear, “I will reach there maybe around 13:00” or “We will try to deliver it within a week” or “We will inform you later if we have fixed your computer” in Indonesia.

Apparently, the Japanese are confident to say the precise time when they make an appointment, while Indonesians are still afraid to say the exact time.

This is not because Japan is an advanced country while Indonesia is still developing country. It’s simply about principles. Japanese companies and the government have very well-known principles which are known as “Yoyu Jikan”. “Yoyu Jikan” literally means surplus time.

It’s the principle of the Japanese of allowing for extra time in case the worst happens. In other words, they always consider allowing extra time when committing or planning something. Hence, they are always confident enough to state the precise time and details while Indonesians are still timid.

Perhaps it was an unacceptable reason for Naoshima when Darwin said, “I’m sorry. I was late; it was because of a traffic jam”.

Because, in the Japanese mindset, allowing extra time for the worst-case scenario is a part of being punctual. It is stated in the Republic of Indonesia’s objective for 2030 that Indonesia is expected to be one of the leading countries in Asia, like Japan is now.

But, it will simply be another daydream if In-Delay-sia can’t adopt the principle of being punctual that Ja-Punctual already has.



The writer is currently studying at Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan, in the third year of an undergraduate course, majoring in computer science. He is also the secretary-general of the Indonesian Student Association in Japan (PPI Jepang).