Why are the India Japan relations in NEWS | - The Prime Minister of Japan recently visited India for the annual summit meeting between the 2 countries
- 4th Annual Summit recently took place. Several important agreements, were signed in the summit
- The India-Japan “Special Strategic and Global Partnership” is flourishing. Such a designation is used for Ind-Jpn relations only
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Highlights of the joint-statement: | - It calls for a “rules-based order” in the Indo-Pacific region where “sovereignty and international law are respected, and differences resolved through dialogue
- And all countries, large or small, enjoy freedom of navigation and overflight, sustainable development, and a free, fair and open trade and investment system
- It took a swipe at China’s OBOR initiative by calling for transparency in the development of connectivity and infrastructure development in the region
- It reaffirmed the India-Japan project to connect Africa and Asia
- The statement condemns North Korea, but for the first time, includes “the importance of holding accountable all parties” that helped that country develop its nuclear programme.
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Strategic Convergence | - India and Japan asked North Korea to shut down its nuclear and missile programmes.
- India and Japan, both hinted at Pakistan’s past involvement with North Korean nuclear and missile programmes and sought accountability of “all parties” who helped Pyongyang acquire nuclear technology.
- Japan promised to help India deal with cross-border terrorism: support can be provided both indirectly in international platforms or directly to deal with organisations like Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and the Islamic State
- A joint statement issued after the summit sought the implementation of Resolution 1267 of the UN Security Council to counter cross-border terrorism
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Key Points of India Japan relationship | - 2 key reasons for deepening relationship
- The rise of China
- Doubts about America’s commitment in Asia
- The India-Japan synergy has two key elements.
- Japan is investing heavily in strengthening its critical infrastructure to enhance its economic and potential defence capabilities.
- The two countries have begun working on a joint infrastructure development and connectivity drive. It traverses the Indian Ocean, from Myanmar to Sri Lanka to Iran and encompasses the Asia-Africa Growth Corridor
- On defence matters, Japan and India have agreed to establish regular consultations in the “2+2” format of their defence and foreign ministries.
- Their navies exercise regularly together with the U.S. Navy.
- Negotiations on arms sales, the ShinMaywa US-2i amphibious aircraft are on Japanese investment in strategically placed Andaman and Nicobar Islands will help New Delhi establish a major security sentinel in the eastern Indian Ocean.
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Bullet Train | - Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe laid the foundation stone in Ahmedabad for the country’s first Rs. 1,10,000 crore, 508 km high-speed rail project between Mumbai and Ahmedabad.
- The ambitious project is being implemented with nearly 90% financial support and technology from Japan.
- Key Fact:
- To be built on elevated corridor with a seven-km undersea tunnel in Mumbai, the project will be based on the famed Japanese Shinkansen high-speed railway system with a record of zero casualties in its 50 years of operation.
- Dead line for completion: August 15, 2022, the day when India marks 75 years of Independence.
- The project will be executed through a special purpose vehicle, the National High Speed Rail Corporation Ltd.
- India’s Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd and Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd will tie up for manufacturing the rolling stock for bullet train project.
- A training centre in Vadodara is being set up to train over 4,000 employees who will be responsible for execution, operation and maintenance of the bullet train.
- The project will cover 12 stations — Mumbai, Thane, Virar, Boisar, Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Ahmedabad and Sabarmati — and once operational, the train is expected to service 1.5 crore travellers a year.
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Background of Ind-Japan relations | - Common cultural traditions including the heritage of Buddhism and a common commitment to the ideals of democracy, tolerance, pluralism and open society.
- 2 of the largest and oldest democracies in Asia having a high degree of congruence of political, economic and strategic interests, view each other as partners that have responsibility for and are capable of responding to global and regional challenges.
- India is the largest recipient of Japanese official development assistance (ODA).
- As of 2013, bilateral trade between India & Japan stood at US$16.31 billion & is expected to reach US$50 billion by 2019-20.
- In August 2000, Japanese Prime Minister Mori visited India & both countries established "Japan-India Global Partnership in the 21st Century."
- In December 2006, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Japan culminated in the signing of the "Joint Statement Towards Japan-India Strategic and Global Partnership".
- India and Japan concluded a security pact in October 2008. India is also one of the only three countries in the world with whom Japan has security pact.
- In 2009-2010, negotiations were underway for a civil nuclear agreement between the countries
- India-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement was signed in 2011.
- In 2014, the Indian PM Narendra Modi visited Japan. His 2014 visit further strengthened the ties between the two countries, and resulted in several key agreements, including the establishment of a "Special Strategic Global Partnership"
- The India-Japan Vision 2025 statement jointly issued by leaders of both countries in New Delhi in 2015 is the most comprehensive statement of long-term bilateral engagement defined by shared interests and values.
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India-Japan Economic relations | - Japan-India economic relations are moored in strong bedrock of complementariness, viz
- Japan’s ageing population (23% above 65 years) and India’s youthful dynamism (over 50% below 25 years);
- India’s rich natural and human resources and Japan’s advanced technology;
- India’s prowess in services and Japan’s excellence in manufacturing; and
- Japan’s surplus capital for investments and India’s large and growing markets and the middle class.
- Bilateral trade between India & Japan stood at US$16.31 billion & is expected to reach US$50 billion by 2019-20.
- Japan is currently India’s fourth largest source of FDI
- Official Development Assistance of Japan has been a rock solid pillar of the bilateral relations. Some of the recent projects undertaken with its help include-
- New Delhi metro network has been realized with the Japanese assistance which helped to conceptualize and execute the prestigious Delhi Metro Project.
- The Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC),
- the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor(DMIC) with eight new industrial townships,
- the Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (CBIC)
- Chennai And Ahmedabad metro etc
- A $4.5 billion soft loan has been extended by Japan to India for railway project between Delhi and Mumbai. It is the single largest overseas project being financed by Japan and reflected growing economic partnership between the two nations.
- Agreement in December 2015 to build a bullet train line between Mumbai and Ahmadabad using Japan's Shinkansen technology
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| India-Japan Nuclear deal |
| - India and Japan signed the “Agreement for Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy” and a supplementary document, called “Note on Views and Understanding,” which is also legally binding, to ensure the implementation of the main deal.
- This is Japan’s first nuclear deal with a non-signatory to the Non Proliferation Treaty, and it recognizes India’s exemplary record in nuclear prudence.
- The “Note on Views and Understanding” describes a statement delivered in Vienna on September 5, 2008 by then-External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on the Civil Nuclear Initiative. According to the Note, that speech will constitute the “essential basis for cooperation between the two states under the agreement.” In the 2008 speech, Mukherjee emphasized India’s commitment to a voluntary moratorium on nuclear testing, non-proliferation, and the global disarmament of nuclear weapons.
- Henceforth, any violation of the September 5, 2008 statement could be viewed as a serious departure from the status quo. In that situation, Japan has reserved the right to suspend reprocessing of nuclear material at any facility with due consultation from both side.
- The preconditions laid down by Japan in the agreement have raised serious concern about India’s right to undertake future nuclear test or to amend its No First Use Policy.
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| India-Japan Strategic relations |
UNSC Reforms | - India and Japan have common objective of securing a permanent seat in UNSC and the two countries have supported each other in this context.
- Together with Germany and Brazil, they make the G4 nations which support each other’s bids for permanent seats.
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China factor | - Both the Asian powerhouses face a common challenge of a n aggressive China that is flexing its muscle in the region
- The creation of CPEC and several other infra projects by China in its vicinity and China's stand on South China sea and other disputed islands in claimed by Japan have brought the 2 countries closer
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Securing a rule based regime in international waterways | - It is in the interest of Japan as well as India that the international waters in the Indo-Pacific region remain open for navigation and over flight
- Both parties want an early conclusion to the disputes in the region arising out of the whimsical demands of China in the region that affect several other South-East Asian countries as well
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Terrorism | - Both countries want a peaceful World sanitized of terrorism in all its forms. Japan has stood by India in the various terror attacks and has unequivocally criticized Pakistan for terror activities
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Export control regime | - Japan has supported India's claim to be a part of the import bodies for controlling arms proliferation viz., Nuclear Suppliers Group, Wassenaar Arrangement and Australia Group, with the aim of strengthening the international non-proliferation efforts
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Defence co-operation | - India and Japan have close military ties. They have shared interests in maintaining the security of sea-lanes in the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean, and in co-operation for fighting international crime, terrorism, piracy and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
- Frequently conduct joint military exercises and co-operate on technology.
- Malabar- trilateral naval exercise involving the United States, Japan and India as permanent partners. Japan became a permanent partner since 2015.
- India with its goal of Make in India wants to give a boost to its nascent Defence industry and cooperation in this area with Japan is increasing very fast.
- PM Modi has underlined the importance of co-development and co-production in niche technological areas.
- India is also negotiating to purchase US-2 amphibious aircraft for the Indian Navy.
- ShinMaywa US-2i:The US-2i amphibious aircraft is the best in its class, has multifarious roles and will be the first overseas military sale by Japan, since their self-imposed arms export ban in 1967.
- During the recent visit, the deal for US-2i could not be finalised due to pricing, lack of firm commitment on the numbers required and other issues. The Japanese side is also taking a finer look into the manner in which the procurement and proposed Transfer of Technology will take place.
Note: ShinMaywa US-2i (2”i” stands for domestically manufactured aircraft under Make in India, which would provide a boost to Indian defence manufacturing technology) |
Space | - MoU between ISRO and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) - strengthen the bilateral cooperation, identify and carry out mutually beneficial cooperative projects on space applications, space exploration, research and development and promotion of the space industry.
- Collaboration in the fields of data sharing, joint research in marine and earth sciences.
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Cultural ties and people to people contacts | - Namaste India Festival, which started in Japan over twenty years ago and is now the largest festival of its kind in the world.
- Japan has also supported the reconstruction of Nalanda University, and has agreed to provide financial assistance, and recently approached the Indian government with a proposal.
- Starting from July 2014, Japan issues multiple entry visas for the short term stay of Indian nationals.
- Co-ordination between ministries of both countries to promote sharing of experiences, skills, techniques, information and knowledge, with a special focus on Tokyo 2020 Olympics
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