The Cabinet endorsed a package of emergency measures Friday to help stabilize Southeast Asian countries, pledging its readiness to take further action if necessary.
The move followed the Liberal Democratic Party's call on the government to work out specific measures to aid Indonesia and other Southeast Asian nations. As measures specifically designed for Indonesia, which at the moment faces the most acute crisis, Japan will continue to provide short-term trade insurance, possibly worth $3 billion, for its trade with Indonesia, even when letters of credit are not available.
The government's package also calls for a $1 billion credit line to be available for two years to provide insurance for industrial loans to Japanese affiliates operating in Indonesia. The step is intended to ensure operating liquidity at Japanese affiliates, which are suffering from the credit crunch of Japanese banks, a government official said.