We have a very good relationship. And this is something we need to support. I specifically express my appreciation and hopefully we can hold it routinely in the future

Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan, officially opened Jakarta Kizuna Ekiden 2019 at the east Plaza, Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Central Jakarta, on Sunday (9/15).

This relay run that has been taking place since 2014 is the result of cooperation between Kompas Daily and the Japanese newspaper, Mainichi Shimbun is expected to strengthen bilateral relations between Indonesia and Japan.

"Alhamdulillah, this morning I feel grateful to be able to witness the opening of the sixth relay event held and has come for the 4th time at this event. Insya Allah, it can strengthen the brotherhood between Japan and Indonesia," Anies expressed as quoted by Jakarta PPID's press release.

He stated it is a relay race between two nations, instead of a competition. Each runner team consisting of Indonesian and Japanese elements built an atmosphere of togetherness and friendship between nations.

"We have a very good relationship. And this is something we need to support. I specifically express my appreciation and hopefully we can hold it routinely in the future," he told.

He explained relations between the two countries are not just between governments (G to G) and between the business world (B to B), but also between nations (P to P).

"We hope all goes well, especially B to B, we know that our big investor in Indonesia is from Japan. We also do a lot of joint development projects in Japan. But between communities, aspects of culture and sports must also be pushed. And we hope for more events like this. Last week, we held the Jakarta-Japan Festival and it is also equally encouraging P to P relations," he explained.

As for the information, Ekiden is a Japanese-style relay marathon that does not use a stick to be passed between runners, but rather a cloth called tasuki. In this event, every team has 4 runners, one of them is Indonesian or vice versa (3 Indonesians and 1 Japanese). This year there will be 600 teams from 2,400 participants.

It will also be enlivened by famous figures, namely Haruka Nakagawa (artist), Jerome Polin (social media influencer), Shohei Matsunaga (Japanese soccer player), Yoshimi Ozaki (Japanese marathon athlete) and Hiroaki Kato (singer-songwriter) as the emcee.

It will also be attended by Masafumi Ishi (Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia), Shingo Otsubo (The Mainichi Newspapers director), Lilik Oetama (CEO of Kompas Gramedia) and Ahmad Arsani (Deputy of Improvement for the Sports Achievement of the Indonesian Ministry of Sport).