Assistance from Japan to Indonesia started in 1954 with the acceptance of trainees in the areas of industry, transportation, communication, agriculture and health care. Japanese assistance has contributed a great deal to the development of Indonesia through human capacity development, improvement of economic and social infrastructures and so on. Japanese cooperation has been provided continuously in good times and hard times. For example, at the time of the Asian economic crisis after August 1997, Japan helped Indonesia to overcome the crisis by providing assistance such as the special loan aid, credit restructuring and policy support. Japan also provided assistance amounting to 640 million US dollars to Indonesia for reconstruction from the damage caused by the massive earthquake off the coast of Sumatra and the ensuing tsunami in the Indian Ocean.

For Indonesia, Japan is the largest aid-providing nation and the total assistance up to 2006 amounts to 29.5 billion US dollars. At the same time, Indonesia is the largest recipient of Japanese aid among the developing countries to which it provides assistance. This indicates that Indonesia and Japan are mutually important partners, having maintained friendly relations extending half a century.