Indo-Japan Relations

India, Japan agree to take forward defence exchanges


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New Delhi, Nov 9 (PTI) Agreeing to take forward their defence exchanges in a meaningful way, India and Japan today expressed commitment to contribute to bilateral and regional cooperation in areas like ASEAN Regional Forum, peacekeeping and disaster relief.

This was stated in a joint press statement issued at the end of a meeting between Defence Minister A K Antony and his Japanese counterpart Toshimi Kitazawa in Tokyo where they reviewed the existing defence cooperation between the two countries, Defence Ministry officials said here.

Antony's three-day visit is the first by any Indian Cabinet Minister to Tokyo after the new Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) government took over there.

During the meeting, the two sides condemned terrorism and stressed on the need to enhance cooperation in the fight against the global menace.

India, Japan Pledge To Boost Cooperation - Defense News

India, Japan Pledge To Boost Cooperation

NEW DELHI - India's newfound strategic partner in the region, Japan, has assured New Delhi of greater defense cooperation, a senior Defence Ministry official here said Nov. 9. Officials from the two countries discussed ways to boost their alliance during a three-day meeting in Tokyo.

India and Japan "expressed their commitment to contribute to bilateral and regional cooperation," according to the Defence Ministry's official release, issued at the end of the Tokyo meeting between visiting Indian Defence Minister A.K. Antony and his Japanese counterpart, Toshimi Kitazawa.

"The two countries also recognized their mutual interest in the safety of sea lanes of communications and welcomed recent reinforcement of cooperation in the field of maritime security between the two defense authorities, as well as the inauguration of the Japan-India Maritime Security Dialogue, which was held in India last month," the release said.

Antony was accompanied to Tokyo by a delegation that included Defence Secretary Pradeep Kumar; V.K. Saraswat, scientific adviser to the defense minister; and Vice Adm. D.K. Dewan, vice chief of the naval staff.

The focus on Indo-Japanese strategic ties is part of India's effort to counter China's growing influence in the area, said Mahindra Singh, a defense analyst here, but Japan's and India's overdependence on Arabian Gulf oil and the need to ensure its smooth flow is another driver.

Our a comprehensive defence relationship to take place. Japan should impart technical know how on fast building of battle ship building to india. This is their strength and our need.
Our ship building industry is 100% open to fdi. So they can invest heavily in civilian ship building as well. They have to amend their existing laws of dealing only with weapons exports to Us. They have to also realise new delhi's strategic considerations and engage in full civilian nuclear cooperation.

India, Japan renew commitment to develop defence action plan l The Hindu l P. S. Surayanarayana

India's aim might be to counter China, but I suspect that our government is going to back off any plan that would suggest so. What I think Japan is trying to do right now is to get India to help maintain a safe passageway for shipping through the Indian Ocean for our merchants.

IceCoolBen, battleships are outdated and we haven't built one since WWII. All experience in that category probably have been lost. Previous agreements have been made between the countries, but not much has happened except for a few anti-piracy drills here and there. There definetly will not be any arms trade.

south koreans are better ship builders, Japanese don't have any real defense industry so this cooperation will not amount to much.

Don't kid yourself. While we may not have heavier cruisers, are Atago calss and Kongo class destroyers are the best in Asia, hands down. Must of our weapons we have are built in Japan except for aircraft (barring the F-2).

International tie-ups, especially in combined defense practice are essential. It help to know each other's mind set, and technologies.

Japanese PM to visit India from Dec 27

Tokyo: Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama will undertake his first visit to India this week for talks with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh on counter- terrorism measures, a free trade agreement and climate issues, officials said here on Wednesday.

Hatoyama will visit India from December 27 to 29.


He will also undertake a trip to the country's financial hub Mumbai before returning to Japan in the early morning of December 30.

The plan for his visit took time to be finalised due to extended consultations on the compilation of Japan's fiscal 2010 budget, Kyodo news agency reported.

Hatoyama, 62, took office in mid-September after his Democratic Party of Japan swept to power in August's lower house elections, ousting the long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

India, Japan to firm up bilateral relations

Sandeep Dikshit

NEW DELHI: Apart from improving their coordination on security issues, India and Japan will also consolidate their economic ties during the visit of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama this week.

Meeting against the backdrop of Japanese investment in India having exceeded its investment in China for the first time in 2008-09, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Mr. Hatoyama will seek to give a push to the multi-billion dollarDelhi-Mumbai freight corridor with the aim to complete it by 2016-17. The summit level meeting will aim to tie up the loose ends so that the assistance agreement is finalised by early next year. The project will provide speedy transportation to goods from the industrial heartlands of north India to ports on the western flank.

The Japanese FDI in India of 809 billion yen as compared to 679 billion yen in China during 2008-09. A further impetus is expected to be provided with the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) project. An agreement on the first tranche of project development fund would pave the way for s feasibility study. Once issues such as infrastructure building and electricity supply are settled, the “early bird” Japanese companies besides some from India will set their investment plans in motion.

“Without India, Japan cannot grow in future. Therefore infrastructure building projects in India are very important for Japan. The investments in Tata Teleservices, Mitsubishi Chemical plant, Ranbaxy and the setting up of automobile manufacturing units are successful stories that will have a good impact on the minds of potential Japanese investors” said the sources.

Japanese telecom giant NTT DoCoMo has acquired a 26 per cent equity stake in Tata Teleservices and Daiichi Sankyo bought 34.8 per cent of Ranbaxy Labs’ equity, while Mitsubishi is financing a petrochemical plant at Haldia in West Bengal. Several Japanese automobile companies led by Suzuki and Honda are operating in the country.

On security cooperation, the sources pointed out the similarities between the India-Japan declaration on security cooperation and the one inked during Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd visit to India last month. “This symbolises where Japan is trying to place India in forming a partnership. The idea was there and Defence Minister A. K. Antony’s during his visit to Japan in November signalled India’s willingness to enhance security cooperation. The approach will be different from the earlier security cooperation because this cooperation will not be against a third party,” the sources pointed out.

Mr. Antony’s visit was preceded by that of National Security Advisor (NSA) M K Narayanan. Not only were similar sentiments expressed but Mr. Hatoyama broke protocol and escorted the NSA right up to his car, said Indian official sources.

Japan has also welcomed Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram’s announcement of a visa-on-arrival scheme for nationals from five countries including Japan and interprets it as India’s desire for closer bilateral ties.

The Hindu : Front Page : India, Japan to firm up bilateral relations

Japan asks India to sign CTBT, no word on N-deal

Press Trust Of India
Published on Tue, Dec 29, 2009 at 15:14, Updated on Tue, Dec 29, 2009 at

New Delhi: Pressed by Japan to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), India on Tuesday clearly put the onus on the US and China for taking a lead in this direction by ratifying it.

Japan, however, promised to relax restrictions on hi-tech trade as the two countries sought to impart greater depth to their ties by unveiling an action plan covering defence and counter-terrorism exchanges and vowing to step up two-way trade.

After his wide-ranging talks with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama remained non-committal on civil nuclear cooperation with India although he observed that it would be an "important agenda for future".

At a joint press conference with Singh after the talks, Hatoyama said the two countries have "differences" over the issue of CTBT and Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Noting that he had discussed the issue with Singh, he said, "I expressed the hope that along with the US and China, India will sign and ratify the (CTBT) treaty."

Hatoyama said, "In response, Prime Minister Singh said should the US and China ratify the CTBT, a new situation will emerge. I believe he has stated it as a matter of fact. We firmly have to engage in these endeavours."

Singh said India was committed to "universal, voluntary and non-discriminatory" disarmament and voluntary moratorium on nuclear testing.

Hatoyama said he had also referred to Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty and contended that negotiations for that should be launched as soon as possible.

"Japan and India should cooperate for its early conclusion," he said, adding the suggestion was welcomed by Singh.

The Japanese Prime Minister added that his country continues to "seek cooperation from India" for "total elimination of nuclear weapons".

On his part, Singh said India is "deeply interested" in working with Japan and other like minded countries to "promote the cause of universal, verifiable and non-discriminatory disarmament".

He said he "explained" to Hatoyama "the circumstances in which India had to go the nuclear weapon" way in 1998.

"I also mentioned India has unilaterally declared moratorium on conducting nuclear explosive testing and that is a commitment we will honour," Singh said, adding he had also pointed to Indias's "impeccable record" with regard to non-proliferation.

Noting that the two leaders had "fairly extensive" discussions on prospects of civil nuclear cooperation, Singh referred to the waiver given by the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group to India to conduct trade in nuclear material and technology.

Asked about the prospects of civil nuclear cooperation between the two countries, Hatoyama did not respond.

Earlier, in his opening statement, he said the issue of nuclear energy was discussed "because it is going to be an important agenda for future".

Hatoyama said the two countries have common interest in disarmament and non-proliferation in and around the world and Singh assured him that "India will work at its best for disarmament and non-proliferation".

"We strive for the ultimate goal of elimination of nuclear weapons. We have been able to confirm that point," the Japanese Prime Minister said.

Singh said in his discussions with Hatoyama, the two sides undertook a comprehensive review of bilateral ties, as well as of major regional and international issues.

The two sides unveiled an action plan to advance the security cooperation, which provides for a framework for regular cabinet or senior official level dialogue.

The plan entails strategic cooperation mechanism involving strategic dialogue at Foreign Minister and National Security Advisor level.

The action plan covers cooperation in defence, counter-terrorism, fight against trans-national crimes, anti-piracy action, UN reforms, disarmament and non-proliferation.

The two sides also vowed to step up two-way trade, particularly considering that Japanese investment in India was less than that in China except for the last year.

In this regard, they emphasised the importance of early conclusion of negotiations for Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).

"We have decided to expedite our negotiations on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement in order to conclude a high quality and balanced agreement. We are hopeful that this can be completed in time for the next Annual Summit meeting," Singh said.

Japan mulls selling India nuclear power technology

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on Tuesday offered to consider selling nuclear power technology to India, but called on New Delhi to sign the nuclear test-ban treaty.

Energy-starved India is interested in wooing Japan's thriving nuclear power industry, but Tokyo has so far not allowed Japanese companies to do business in nuclear reactors and fuels until New Delhi agrees to stop conducting nuclear tests.

Hatoyama told reporters in the Indian capital that his government would examine the matter following assurances by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that India would not divert any imports from Japan for weapons purposes or to third party countries.

On Tuesday, the two countries also finalized an action plan with specific measures to advance security cooperation.

They agreed to increase information exchange and policy coordination on security issues in the Asia-Pacific region and hold annual meetings at the foreign and defense ministers' level and regular consultation between the national security advisers of the two countries, the joint statement said.

Bilateral talks also centered on the New Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, an area designed to be a manufacturing and technological hub for India, it said. Japan is participating in dozens of construction and other projects in the corridor, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

Top Japanese companies have set up shop in India, including automakers Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co. and Suzuki Motor Corp. as well as Sony Corp. and electronics giant Panasonic Corp.

India, Japan look to ease visa rules to boost trade

NEW DELHI: India and Japan agreed on Tuesday to ease visa rules within a year to boost trade between two of Asia's biggest economies that are also trying to broaden cooperation in defence and nuclear energy.

Japan is among India's biggest aid donors and bilateral trade has only begun picking up in recent years with Tokyo easing sanctions it imposed after India tested a nuclear device in 1998.

Both countries are working on a comprehensive trade agreement but procedural issues such as restrictive visa rules have slowed progress, officials said.

As Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama wrapped up his three-day visit on Tuesday, the issue of visas came up in his meeting with Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh.

"I requested Prime Minister Hatoyama to ensure that Japanese visa system becomes more liberal to enable faster growth of trade, investment and people to people contact," Singh told a joint press conference in New Delhi.

Singh said the Japanese prime minister had mentioned "restrictive features" in the Indian visa system and that he had promised to look into it.

Growing trade has added a new dimension to the India-Japan relationship, which traditionally many in New Delhi have viewed as only a counterweight against common rival China.


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The two sides have targeted $20 billion in trade by next year from more than $12 billion in 2008-09. But that is only a small slice of Japan's overseas trade. Japan's two-way trade with China was worth $266.8 billion in 2008.

The two prime ministers also discussed cooperation in renewable energy, including nuclear energy, infrastructure projects, security and climate change. Japan and India already hold regular joint military exercises.

Powering a dynamic, multipolar Asia

Brahma Chellaney December 30, 2009


PRECIOUS INDIA: Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and his wife Miyuki Hatoyamai receive the bust of Mahatma Gandhi during their visit to Rajghat in New Delhi on Tuesday. Photo: PTI

Given that the balance of power in Asia will be determined by events as much in the Indian Ocean rim as in East Asia, India and Japan have to work together to promote peace and stability.

The visit of the new Japanese Prime Minister, Yukio Hatoyama, is part of Japan’s growing economic and strategic engagement with India. Japan and India indeed are natural allies because they have no conflict of strategic interest and actually share common goals to build stability, power equilibrium and institutionalised multilateral cooperation in Asia. There is neither any negative historical legacy nor a single outstanding political issue between them. If anything, each country enjoys a high positive rating with the public in the other state.

Mr. Hatoyama’s year-end visit, fulfilling a bilateral commitment to hold an annual summit meeting, shows he is keen to maintain the priority on closer engagement with India that was set in motion by his predecessors, Junichiro Koizumi, Shinzo Abe and Taro Aso of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), now in the opposition. Mr. Hatoyama came to office vowing to reorient Japanese foreign policy and seek an “equal” relationship with the United States. But he and his Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) had said little on India.

Today, just when America’s Sino-centric Asia policy has became unmistakable, Mr. Hatoyama’s government has put Washington on notice that Japan cannot indefinitely remain a faithful servant of U.S. policies. With Tokyo seeking to rework a 2006 basing deal with the U.S., besides announcing an end to the eight-year-old Indian Ocean refuelling mission in support of the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, Japan no longer can be regarded as a constant in America’s Asia policy. This has been further highlighted by Mr. Hatoyama’s re-examination of a secret agreement between the LDP and the U.S. over a subject that is highly sensitive in the only country to fall victim to nuclear attack — the storage or trans-shipment of U.S. nuclear weapons in Japan.

Against this background, New Delhi must be pleased that Mr. Hatoyama’s visit signals continuity in Tokyo’s India policy. It also shows that at a time when Asia is in transition, with the spectre of power disequilibrium looming large, Tokyo wishes to invest in closer economic and strategic bonds with India.

As Asia’s first modern economic success story, Japan has always inspired other Asian states. Now, with the emergence of new economic tigers and the ascent of China and India, Asia is collectively bouncing back from nearly two centuries of historical decline.

The most far-reaching but least-noticed development in Asia in the new century has been Japan’s political resurgence — a trend set in motion by Mr. Koizumi and expected to be accelerated by Mr. Hatoyama’s efforts to realign the relationship with the U.S. With Japanese pride and assertiveness rising, the nationalist impulse has become conspicuous at a time when China is headed to overtake Japan as the world’s second largest economy by the end of next year.

Long used to practising passive, cheque-book diplomacy, Tokyo now seems intent on influencing Asia’s power balance. A series of subtle moves has signalled Japan’s aim to break out of its post-war pacifist cocoon. One sign is the emphasis on defence modernisation. Japan’s navy, except in the nuclear sphere, is already the most sophisticated and powerful in Asia. China’s rise has prompted Japan to strengthen its military alliance with the U.S. But in the long run, Japan is likely to move to a more independent security posture.

Although the two demographic titans, China and India, loom large in popular perceptions on where Asia is headed economically, the much-smaller Japan is likely to remain a global economic powerhouse for the foreseeable future. Given the size of Japan’s economy — its GDP was just under $5 trillion in 2008 — annual Japanese growth of just 2 per cent translates into about $100 billion a year in additional output, or nearly the entire annual GDP of small economies like Singapore and the Philippines. Still, given China’s rapid economic strides, Japan has been readying itself for the day when it is eclipsed economically by its neighbour.

Leading-edge technologies and a commitment to craftsmanship are expected to power Japan’s future prosperity, just as they did its past growth. Its competitive edge, however, is threatened by the economic and social implications of a declining birth-rate and ageing population. With a fertility rate of just 1.37 babies per woman in 2008 — America’s is 2.12 — Japanese deaths have started surpassing births in recent years. Permitting immigration on a large scale is no easy task for the Japanese homogenised society. But just as Japan has come to live with the discomforting fact that today’s top sumo wrestlers are not Japanese, it will have to open its research institutions and factories to foreigners in order to raise productivity.

India and Japan, although dissimilar economically, have a lot in common politically. They are Asia’s largest democracies, but with messy politics and endemic scandals. Mr. Hatoyama, in office for just three months, has already come under pressure following the indictment of two former secretaries over a funding scandal. In both Japan and India, the Prime Minister is not the most powerful politician in his own party. Fractured politics in both countries crimps their ability to think and act long term. Yet, just as India has progressed from doctrinaire nonalignment to geopolitical pragmatism, Japan — the “Land of the Rising Sun” — is moving toward greater realism in its economic and foreign policies.

Their growing congruence of strategic interests led to the 2008 Japan-India security agreement, a significant milestone in building Asian power stability. A constellation of Asian states linked by strategic cooperation and sharing common interests is becoming critical to ensuring equilibrium at a time when major shifts in economic and political power are accentuating Asia’s security challenges. After all, not only is Asia becoming the pivot of global geopolitical change, but Asian challenges are also playing into international strategic challenges.

The Indo-Japanese security agreement, signed when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Tokyo in October 2008, was modelled on the March 2007 Australia-Japan defence accord. Now the Indo-Japanese security agreement has spawned a similar Indo-Australian accord, signed when Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd came to New Delhi last month. As a result, the structure and even large parts of the content of the three security agreements — between Japan and Australia, India and Japan, and India and Australia — are alike.

Actually, all three are in the form of a joint declaration on security cooperation. And all of them, while recognising a common commitment to democracy, freedom, human rights and the rule of law, obligate their signatories to work together to build not just bilateral defence cooperation, but also security in Asia. They are designed as agreements to enhance mutual security between equals. By contrast, the U.S.-India defence agreement, with its emphasis on arms sales, force interoperability and intelligence sharing — elements not found is Australia-Japan, India-Japan and India-Australia accords — is aimed more at undergirding U.S. interests.

The key point is that the path has been opened to adding strategic content to the Indo-Japanese relationship, underscored by the growing number of bilateral visits by top defence and military officials. As part of their “strategic and global partnership,” India and Japan are working on joint initiatives on maritime security, counterterrorism, counter-proliferation, disaster prevention and management, and energy security. But they need to go much further.

India and Japan, for example, must co-develop defence systems. India and Japan have missile-defence cooperation with Israel and the U.S., respectively. There is no reason why they should not work together on missile defence and on other technologies for mutual defence. There is no ban on weapon exports in Japan’s U.S.-imposed Constitution, only a long-standing Cabinet decision. That ban has been loosened, with Tokyo in recent years inserting elasticity to export weapons for peacekeeping operations, counterterrorism and anti-piracy. The original Cabinet decision, in any event, relates to weapons, not technologies.

As two legitimate aspirants to new permanent seats at the U.N. Security Council, India and Japan should work together to persuade existing veto holders to allow the Council’s long-pending reform. They must try to convince China in particular that Asian peace and stability would be better served if all three major powers in Asia are in the Council as permanent members. Never before have China, Japan and India all been strong at the same time. Today, they need to find ways to reconcile their interests in Asia so that they can coexist peacefully and prosper.

(Brahma Chellaney is professor of strategic studies at the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi and the author of Asian Juggernaut: The Rise of China, India and Japan, with a new U.S. edition scheduled for release in March.)

The Hindu : Opinion / Lead : Powering a dynamic, multipolar Asia

India, Japan finalise action plan to advance security cooperation

K. V. Prasad NEW DELHI, December 30, 2009


Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama calling on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Tuesday. Photo: Rakesh Sharma

India and Japan on Tuesday finalised an action plan to strengthen security cooperation, with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his visiting Japanese counterpart Yukio Hatoyama signing a joint statement here. They also identified nine areas of collaboration and reviewed economic cooperation especially in infrastructure development.

Japan offered to provide bullet train technology to the Indian Railways in its quest to build the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor project from Rewari in Haryana to Vadodara in Gujarat. Both sides decided to work to conclude the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Act at the earliest. Twelve rounds of talks have been held so far.

The joint statement, which came at the end of the annual bilateral summit, expressed satisfaction at the deepening of the annual strategic dialogue between the Foreign Ministers as well as other policy dialogues and the desire to enhance exchanges in the defence field.

Strengthening of collaboration on issues of common strategic interest; setting up of a strategic cooperation mechanism; increase in defence and coast guard cooperation, exchange of information to fight terrorism and other transnational crimes; cooperation at the U.N.; and cooperation on disarmament and non-proliferation were some of the areas earmarked for enhanced collaboration.

Under a new framework, a 2+2 dialogue at Sub Cabinet/Senior Official level was envisaged besides maritime security dialogue.

On the defence front, the action plan visualises regular meetings between the Defence Ministers, annual official-level defence policy dialogue, annual military-to-military talks, regular reciprocal visits of the Service chiefs and ground-to-ground staff talks, Navy-to-Navy staff talks, and developing an annual calendar of defence cooperation and exchanges.

In his statement, Mr. Hatoyama mentioned that the two sides discussed cooperation in defence of sea lanes of communication. India and Japan are among the nations that provide escort to merchant ships off the coast of Somalia to guard against pirate strikes.

The action plan also includes joint exercise and meeting between the Coast Guards of both nations.

Both nations will hold annual bilateral exercise alternately off India and Japan, and if possible hold multi-lateral cooperation too. The Malabar 2007 exercise involves five navies — India, Japan, the United States, Australia and Singapore. The plan also envisages participation as observers in major army and air force exercises and passing exercises during ship visits.

Bedrock of ties

In his opening statement, Dr. Singh said economic partnership between the two countries was the bedrock of the relationship. The two Prime Ministers shared the view that the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor project was moving forward from planning to the implementation stage. They also took note of the Memorandum of Understanding on Smart Communities and Eco-friendly Townships between DMIC and JETRO.

Dr. Singh urged Mr. Hatoyama to liberalise the visa regime to promote investment and the latter too made a similar request. Dr. Singh highlighted the move to provide visa on arrival to visitors from Japan.

Both also noted that the Japanese side had set up a consortium of government, academia and industry to establish Indian Institute of Technology at Hyderabad

The Hindu : News / National : India, Japan finalise action plan to advance security cooperation