In early July, scholars from East Asia and Southeast Asia gathered at the University of Indonesia's Center for Japanese Studies for a conference.

The theme of the conference, which was subsidized by the Japan Foundation, was ``Discourses on Japan after the Asian Economic Crisis.''

Participants from Japan, the Republic of Korea (South Korea), China, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore discussed how views on Japan have changed in their respective countries since the Asian economic crisis of 1997.

Overall, the participants said Japan's relief programs, such as the $30 billion (3.6 trillion yen) Miyazawa Plan announced in 1998 to aid nations hit by the Asian currency and economic crises, were favorably received.

The scholars also reported that Japan's current problems-massive debts and fiscal deficits that are delaying structural reform and dragging the economy down-are being blamed for discouraging Asian exports to Japan, and consequently not contributing to the activation of the Asian economy.

In Indonesia, Japan's post-economic crisis relief packages are rated highly.

A letter of intent exchanged between the Indonesian government and the International Monetary Fund prescribes all sorts of conditions concerning structural reform of the Indonesian economy.

One condition is that IMF disbursement will be deferred in the event of delay in reform. In contrast, Japanese aid to Indonesia is being implemented according to schedule.

But this is not to say Japan has not done anything negative in Indonesia.

In January, a Japanese producer of synthetic food seasonings in Indonesia was discovered to have been marketing a product containing pork enzymes-a substance banned under Islamic law.

Local police authorities arrested four Japanese employees of the company, including one executive, for violation of consumer protection laws.

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health ordered the company to recall the product within three weeks.

The offending product carried the ``halal'' mark on the package, meaning it was prepared strictly according to Islamic laws.

This brought the maker under suspicion of deliberate misrepresentation of its product to the local consuming public.

In March, employees of a Japanese-affiliated auto component maker held a sit-in demonstration to demand a wage hike, when they were attacked by an unidentified group of 500 armed men.

Two employees were killed and more than 60 were injured, some seriously.

Police were brought in to investigate whether the company had hired thugs to suppress the labor dispute.

Having observed the Indonesian public's reaction to these incidents, I must conclude that while Japanese aid to ease Indonesia's prolonged economic woes has not aroused any particularly pro-Japanese public sentiment, those negative incidents have not caused any strong feelings against Japan either.

The Center for Japanese Studies at the University of Indonesia recently conducted a survey on Indonesians' images of Japan and the Japanese people.

The majority of respondents said Japan's economic presence was ``beneficial to Indonesia,'' but many also thought Japan was ``exploiting Indonesia economically.''

The survey revealed mixed reactions to Japan's economic presence, but public opinion is just as mixed with respect to general images of Japan after the Asian economic crisis.

Such reactions have to do with Japan's heavy economic presence in Indonesia, which in itself is bound to evoke both positive and negative sentiments.

Also, given the fact that no solution is yet in sight for Indonesia's current political and economic problems, I believe the public is too preoccupied with these internal crises at the moment to react in any extreme manner to other issues.

The author is the executive director of the Center for Japanese Studies, University of Indonesia.