"As a friend of Japan, President Yudhoyono has instructed me to inform the Japanese government of our readiness to provide disaster relief assistance," Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said here Saturday.
Marty also expressed condolences to the government and people of Japan on the disaster that happened on Friday (March 11) at 02.46 pm local time.
"In connection with the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, President Yudhoyono, the government and people of Indonesia again express our deepest condolences to Japan," Marty added.
The Indonesia government was also to send a team consisting of five officers from the Foreign Ministry on Saturday night to help the Indonesian Embassy in Tokyo in caring for Indonesian citizens living in Japan, Marty said.
The team from the Foreign Ministry was tasked to help the embassy team in mitigating and protecting Indonesian citizens in Japan, especially those who lived in Miyagi and Iwate prefectures.
"Tonight, the Foreign Ministry will send a team to help the Indonesian Embassy there in protecting our citizens," he said.
Earlier, the Indonesian Embassy in Japan had sent a team to Sendai City to help Indonesian citizens who stayed near the epicenter of the earthquake that hit Japan on Friday (March 11). The team from the Indonesian Embassy who had gone ahead to Sendai has just arrived at a point 30 kilometers closer to Sendai City.
Meanwhile, a nuclear power plant in Fukushima exploded and released thick smoke at 4.00 pm of local time. The government of Japan had evacuated 11.000 people from Fukushima following the expansion of area which was affected by its radiation reaching 20 kilometers.
The Japan government also announced that blackout would be done in turns in relation to the explosion at the nuclear power plant in Fukushima.(*)
(T.KR-FNY/HAJM/H-YH)
Editor: Ruslan Burhani
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
