Japan hopes to draw up additional measures to assist embattled Indonesia by the start of Saturday's meeting of the finance ministers and central bankers of the Group of Seven, Finance Minister Hikaru Matsunaga said Wednesday.
Members of a government mission to Jakarta that returned earlier in the day informed him of the lack of food and the need for additional assistance, Matsunaga told a news conference. He added that he hopes some aid plan could be formed by the Saturday G-7 meeting, which is to be held in London.
Meanwhile, calls were mounting within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to include measures to assist Asian nations in its upcoming economic stimulus package due out Friday. Japan has already pledged some $5 billion in financial assistance to Indonesia to back up loans from international institutions such as the International Monetary Fund.
The new financial package to the strife-torn country will feature 300 billion yen in emergency loans from the Ex-Im Bank as its centerpiece. Party members working on the package said they are considering new trade insurance.
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