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Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi attended the Special ASEAN Leaders' Meeting on Aftermath of Earthquake and Tsunami held in Jakarta to discuss the emergency assistance measures for those countries that incurred damage from the immense tsunami that followed the earthquake off the coast of Sumatra Island in Indonesia. The leaders from 29 countries, regions and international organizations participated in the meeting, which closed with the adoption of a declaration called for all countries to work together for the formulation of an assistance system and establishment of an early warning system for tsunami. The participants offered a minute of silence at the beginning of the meeting. At the meeting, Prime Minister Koizumi said, "The pains felt by Asian countries are our own pains. Disaster in Asia is nothing but ours as well," and further continued saying that "Japan will provide assistance to the maximum extent possible in three ways: financial resources, human resources, and knowledge and expertise." Moreover, Prime Minister Koizumi proposed to expand the circle of assistance by convening "a special session" on the damages caused by the tsunami at the United Nations World Conference on Disaster Reduction that will be held from 18 to 22 January in Kobe, where the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake struck a decade ago. Following the meeting, Prime Minister Koizumi held separate meetings with Mr. Kofi Annan, the Secretary-General of the United Nations and Mr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the President of the Republic of Indonesia. Prime Minister Koizumi then left for Japan on that evening.

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