Abstract
This study examines how communication gaps occurred between the Indonesian and Japanese governments, based on the case of receiving Indonesian nurses through the Japanese-Indonesian Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). This study focuses on the process of how meanings are created and shared (or not shared) between the Japanese and Indonesian governments, and how communication among Ministries within the government influence the processes. Fieldwork was conducted from 2008 to 2010, including interviews with Japanese and Indonesian government representatives. Organizational communication gaps were found to be caused by five factors: (1) unclear purpose of the EPA scheme; (2) power relationships between governments; (3) lack of communication within the government; (4) differences in cultural meanings attached to terms; and (5) social and historical contexts in which the organizations were placed. Based on the case analysis, theoretical implications are discussed.
