Indo-Japan Relations

[ejazr]

India-Japan Relations

http://www.ipcs.org/article/southea...egic-alliance-not-sideshow-required-3269.html

Tomoko Kiyota


The relationship between India and Japan ought to be closer, one would think, given the geopolitical reality which the two countries are facing. But, curiously enough, this relationship is still like a sideshow for both countries. Against China's rise, India and Japan must have stronger military ties to each other but this is not the case as the facts tell us. Foreign policy in the Indo-Japanese case is more influenced by other factors such as the economy and raw material resources. The Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's recent visit to Japan clearly showed this.

During Singh's three-day visit from 24 to 26 October, the greatest achievement was the conclusion of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). Under the CEPA, Japan and India will get rid of tariffs on goods that account for more than 90 per cent of their two-way trade flows, in a period of ten years after the agreement takes effect. For Japan, it was the twelfth CEPA after those with Mexico and the ASEAN countries, and for the new Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) government, it was its first major economic deal. The Agreement has taken four years since the talks started in 2007 to fructify, but it is not too slow in comparison with other pending negotiations, such as the Japan-Korea and Japan-China EPA. All five major Japanese newspapers featured the CEPA as a top news headline, possibly the biggest ever India-related news event in the last 10 years.

Japanese newspapers of course, wrote about China as an important factor in the deepening of India-Japan relations, but according to the Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara, newspapers had emphasized too much about China in the media conference, and stressed that Japan should build a more independent relationship with India. It is reported that two Prime Ministers talked about China for ten minutes in a 40-minute meeting. Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan explained the territorial issue between Japan and China but the two leaders agreed that both countries had to try to have improved relations with China.

Even if China was the most important factor for both countries, it was more in terms of the economy and the question of resources, not in terms of pure security issues at this summit. Although the territorial dispute and the sequence of events in the last two months were real concerns for Japan, the matter still remains a bilateral one and Tokyo does not deem it necessary to seek other countries' help to resolve it. For better or for worse, China is Japan's No.1 economic partner and as one newspaper quoted the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, "it is not realistic to slough off China's influence rapidly" (Asahi Shinbun, 26 October 2010).

Nevertheless, Japan must reduce its economic dependency on China and India is a very attractive option as a big potential market, despite India's current ranking of No. 27 among Japan's trading partners. And in this perspective, the fact that India has rare metals and rare earths is a potential area of cooperation. It needs to be remembered that China had sought to restrict exports of rare earths to Japan, during the standoff between them in September when the Japanese arrested and detained a Chinese fishing vessel captain for ramming his boat into Japanese naval vessels. This incident had happened in the waters off Japan's Senkaku islands which are disputed by China and led to considerable tensions between the two countries. In this context, if India and Japan can cooperate in this field and in other areas of economics and trade, it could also enhance the importance of each country as a reliable security partner for the other.

Even though Japan's Prime Ministers have changed almost every summit since 2000, one thing that has remained constant among the seven leaders that have occupied that post in this period – from Yoshiro Mori to Naoto Kan – has been their forward-looking attitude as far as the relationship with India was concerned. This trend will continue. But it should be more than a 'sideshow' when it comes to questions of geopolitics. The first steps are being taken with Japan and India engaging in a 2 plus 2 dialogue at foreign and defence ministers' level, and agreeing to deepen their Global Partnership.

After the Cold War, the world has continued to remain unstable. Rising powers – such as China and India – and existing powers – such as the US, Europe, Russia and Japan – are now engaged in creating a new world order. Japan cannot afford to be submerged by the tide of events since it is a small, island country which depends on a trading relationship. For its survival, Japan must seek diplomatic options besides the Japan-US alliance and India is the best possible partner for Japan. In addition to being an economic giant, their similar democratic political systems, non-Western societies, desire to gain permanent seats on the UN Security Council and security environments are all factors which the two countries can use for a building a strategic alliance. Hopefully, the Singh visit will provide greater impetus and ambition to both countries.

 

[ajtr]

Japan, India must deepen security, economic ties​

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The Yomiuri Shimbun
Published: Monday, Nov. 1, 2010 - 5:11 am
The following editorial appeared in the Yomiuri Shimbun on Tuesday, October 26.

India, a major power in South Asia, is not only a promising market with a fast-developing economy but also is a country that shares concerns with Japan over China's military expansion.

Tokyo should strategically enhance its partnership with India in both economic and security fields.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Japan in October and agreed with Prime Minister Naoto Kan to establish a ministerial-level economic dialogue between the two countries.

Japan has been holding similar ministerial talks with China. But the aftermath of a Chinese fishing vessel's collision with Japan Coast Guard patrol boats off the Senkaku Islands in September has revealed that China, under the single-party regime of the Chinese Communist Party, does not hesitate to use high-handed diplomatic measures over economic and personnel exchanges to push its political demands.

By contrast, India is a democratic country and shares similar values with Japan, such as the rule of law. It does not present the political risks that China does. Besides, India has a population of 1.2 billion, the second-largest after China, and maintains a high economic growth rate of 9 percent annually.

Enhancement of Japan's economic partnership with India will alleviate the nation's economic dependence on China.
In their summit talks, Kan and Singh also agreed that Japan will help India increase production of rare earths, which are indispensable in manufacturing many high-tech products. India's output of rare earths is far behind China's but is still the second-largest in the world.

We think Japan's cooperation agreement with India in this field is very timely. It is an urgent task for Japan to redress the current situation, in which the nation is totally dependent on China for its imports of rare earths.

The two leaders also officially endorsed an economic partnership agreement and promised each other to put it into effect as soon as possible.

With the agreement, India's tariffs on imports of Japanese auto parts and steel would be abolished within 10 years. This would enable Japanese companies manufacturing products in India to drastically reduce the costs of procuring parts from Japan.
The agreement also will simplify procedures for Japanese businesspeople to obtain visas for brief visits or longer stays in India. It will surely help expand business opportunities for Japan in the country.

Security cooperation between the two countries is significant, too. Japan faces a direct threat from China's maritime expansion in the East China Sea, while India is exposed to a similar threat in the Indian Ocean.
Japan and India should actively utilize vice-ministerial talks between their foreign and defense ministries, which were established at the end of last year, to discuss common strategy regarding China, such as measures to ensure the safety of sea lanes.

The two countries also need to seek partnerships with the United States, and then with the Southeast Asian countries that stand at the forefront of friction with China. To realize this goal, Japan and India, regional powers in Asia, must further deepen bilateral relations.



Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/11/01/3148898/japan-india-must-deepen-security.html#ixzz142NaOvvp

 

[juliwat10]

It's easy to advice someone on something! No country is perfect, one has to make it perfect.

 

[Patriot]

Rare Earths- An opportunity for India to increase its production

Guest Column by Rajeev Sharma

The over aggressive diplomacy displayed by China over its recent spat with Japan on the Senkaku Islands (called Daioyu in China) territorial dispute has caused more harm than good to China. The international community has already started gearing up to tackling the rise of China which does not look all that "peaceful" as the Chinese leadership would like the world to believe.



Apart from diplomacy, there is another important area where China is all set to be a loser: rare earth metals. China is poised to lose its monopoly over the rare earths exports because it used it as a strategic tool and placed an unofficial ban on these exports to Japan and the United States which have depended on China solely for these metals for years.



Sino-Japanese relations nosedived in September over Japan's seizure of a Chinese fishing vessel and arrest of the vessel captain. Though Japan decided to release the captain and return the fishing vessel, the implications of this dispute are likely to be far reaching. China squandered away a precious opportunity of exploiting the Japan-US differences over the Futenma air base issue. Beijing could have handled the issue more cautiously but it upped its ante, cancelled the ministerial dialogue that was due with Japan, put on hold export of rare earth metals (on which Japanese high technology industry depends heavily) and threatened Tokyo of dire consequences if the ship crew were not released immediately.



China's loss will be India's gain in near future, both in terms of trade and diplomacy. The China-wary world powers are looking beyond China for assured supply of the rare earths that is not affected by the vagaries of politics. These 17 elements on the periodic table are used by the advanced nations for manufacturing various energy-efficient electric appliances and high-tech products like hybrid cars, smart phones, solar panels and air conditioners.



The main focus is on two elements: neodymium and dysprosium. Mixed with iron and other metals, neodymium enhances magneticity in compounds. Dysprosium raises the heat resistance of such magnets. The neodymium magnet, a permanent magnet made from an alloy of neodymium, iron and boron, was invented nearly three decades ago by Japanese researchers. This type of magnet has since been improved upon with the addition of dysprosium. Now, such magnets are used in products ranging from air conditioners and refrigerators to motors for hybrid and electric vehicles.



India has vast reserves of rare earths and is currently the second largest producer after China, though India's share of the global output of rare earths is a meager two per cent. India has completely neglected the exploitation of the rare earths, though it had set up a public sector undertaking Indian Rare Earths Ltd (IREL) way back in 1950. Even after six decades of its existence, the IREL is able to produce just 2700 tonnes of rare earths, in sharp contrast to China's last year's massive figures of 180,000 tonnes.



During Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Japan in October 2010, one of the agreements that the two countries had signed related to Indian supply of rare earths to Japan. Recently, the then Science and Technology Minister Prithviraj Chavan, who is now the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, had gone on record saying that "Rare earths are vital future resources and we won't like any country to have a monopoly." The ongoing international scramble for rare earths has jolted India out of its stupor and there are indications that India is going to increase its production of rare earths manifold in double quick time. The Japanese will be too eager to help India ramp up production of the rare earths.



The Government of India will have to come up with substantive support to its PSUs and the private sector for greater and quicker exploitation of rare earths. The US Geological Survey has pegged the Indian rare earths reserves at 3.1 million tones. The corresponding figure for China is a whopping 36 million tones. Chavan has already hinted that the private sector would be encouraged to enter into joint ventures with the public sector for extraction of the rare earths.



The Indian laws currently do not allow foreign players in rare earths' extraction business. However, the foreign companies can join hands with the Indian companies by holding a minority stake and it should be okay to the Government of India. Chavan has already gone on record saying that the foreign companies were free to partner Indian companies in processing and refining of rare earths.



Technical experts say India requires to invest Rs140 crore for a 10,000 tonnes per annum processing plant that will produce 5,000 tonnes rare earth oxides in Orissa where a a plant is coming up and is expected to be operational in a year's time. This plant will be instrumental in tripling India's production of rare earths.



But this would still be a drop in the ocean as far as the international demand for these metals goes. The Chinese say about rare earths that they have been selling gold for the rate of carrots and will no longer be committing this mistake. After Chinese restrictions on rare earths exports and the available indications that China will be using its rare earths stockpile domestically, the international prices have soared six times.



A whale of a strategic opportunity is knocking at the Indian doors and India should seize it. The fact that rare earths' exploitation is an environmental hazard should not be a deterrent. Instead India should make efforts to minimize the environmental pollution during the rare earths' extraction process.



(The writer is a New Delhi-based journalist-author and commentator on strategic issues, international relations and terrorism. [email protected])

 

[SHASH2K2]

Japan and India sign free-trade deal after sales slide


Japan and India have signed a free-trade agreement that will see tariffs on 94% of goods scrapped within a decade.
It will focus on the textile, drug, auto and services sectors, and comes as trade between the two is sliding.
Bilateral trade fell 23% to $10bn (£6.2bn) in 2009, the Japan External Trade Organization said.
In a separate report, the World Trade Organization said more open markets will help boost Japan's growth.
The agreement does not cover Japanese farm products such as rice, wheat and dairy items, which are considered too sensitive for tariff elimination.
New vs Old
On Monday, Japan was overtaken by China as the world's second-largest economy and it is keen to boost trade to help offset sluggish domestic demand.
India on the other hand is one of the world's fastest-growing economies and is looking for new markets for its companies' products.
Japan's Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara and India's Commerce Minister Anand Sharma inked the trade deal in Tokyo.
According to the World Trade Organization while Japan's governments have taken steps to boost economic growth, they need to do more where trade is concerned.
"While looser macroeconomic policies have helped Japan's economy to recover from the global financial crisis, they do not address its long-standing structural problems," the WTO said in trade policy review of Japan.
"These problems can be addressed more effectively by far-reaching structural reforms, of which trade liberalization (and the resulting stimulus to competition) is an integral part," it added.
Infrastructure Fund
In another attempt to boost ties between the two Japan is mulling plans to finance some of India's infrastructure projects.
India's commerce minister has proposed setting up a $9bn fund that would help further develop the Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor.
The project started in 2007 and is based on a similar project between Tokyo and Osaka. It is being funded in part by the Japanese government and Japanese companies.
When finished it will include a high-speed rail freight network, three new sea ports and six airports.
It is expected to attract investment of more than $100bn.

 

[LETHALFORCE]

Re: India-Japan Relations

India and Japan Come Together | Indian Decade | The Diplomat

India and Japan Come Together

Most observers of the geopolitical transformation of the Indo-Pacific in the 21st century so far have dwelled on the ascendance of Chinese power, regionally and globally. At the same time, Asia's two largest democracies—and second and third largest economies respectively—Japan and India have strategically converged. This behavior is consistent with the expectations of every major theory of international relations. For the proponents of political realism, the behavior is a natural effort by each state to expand relative power and navigate a security dilemma with China. For the neoliberals, India's vast economic potential in the early-2000s promised gains for Japanese firms and interests. For those who would emphasize identities in the explanation of state behavior, India and Japan share common liberal-democratic values, and India remains one of the few powerful states in the Indo-Pacific arc without historical grievances against the Japanese.

Regardless of why it occurred, this alignment will have important consequences in the region, and certainly in any power transition involving the United States and China.

Indeed, the two countries have undergone a major strategic rapprochement since 2000. In 1998, Japan was quick to condemn India for the Pokhran-II nuclear tests. By 2008, however, the two referred to each other as "Strategic Global Partners" as per their 2006 Strategic Global Partnership, and have concluded a Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation. Bilateral trade volumes were negligible in the 20th century whereas today the two states enjoy a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement that liberalizes bilateral economic activity, and eases Japanese activities in a country often perceived by OECD countries as highly regulated and hostile to foreign investment. Since 2006, India and Japan have held annual Prime Ministerial level talks—a privilege afforded by each to no other state (in Japan's case, even the United States).

This alignment between Asia's largest democracy and its most prosperous one also forms a formidable geostrategic bulwark that ought to give pause to Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea and Indian Ocean. In particular, China and Japan continue to wrangle with the consequences of their turbulent history, and although the economic linkages between the two are vast, territorial disputes remain an important inhibitor to true diplomatic normalization. Similarly, India's border disputes with China in Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin, in addition to Delhi's hosting of the Dalai Lama, create friction in its relationship with China.

Also exacerbating Chinese perceptions of encirclement, Japan shares important security linkages with Australia and, most importantly, the United States. Indeed, former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe once proposed a "Quadrilateral Initiative" consisting of Japan, the United States, Australia, and India as a force for structural stability and peace in Asia. The ensuing opposition from the Chinese ensured that such an initiative was never formalized de jure. Nonetheless, these four democratic states conduct joint military exercises and security consultations leading to a de facto bloc poised against China.

As net-importers of fossil fuels, India and Japan have a vital interest in the protection of sea-lanes along the Hormuz-Malacca-Sea of Japan axis. In fact, PM Abe delivered a landmark speech during his visit to India in 2007 emphasizing the common interests between New Delhi and Tokyo in these critical sea-lanes.

The five-nation Malabar 2007 naval exercises were an important first step to this end. They allowed for direct contact between the Indian Navy and JMSDF in an operational capacity. The exercises included 25 vessels from the United States, India, Japan, Australia, and Singapore, and focused on non-conventional maritime operations including anti-piracy operations, search and rescue, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, and counterterrorism. Incidentally, the exercises also included anti-submarine operations, maritime interdiction, and aerial combat exercises as well (not the usual domains for even the wiliest of pirates in the Gulf of Aden or South-East Asia). A month prior to Malabar 2007, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization conducted a six-nation war game—its largest to date. The timing of these two exercises may be a happy coincidence, but the geopolitical undertones were apparent.

The security aspects of the India-Japan relationship have not been at the expense of each state's economic relationship with China. Despite the growing economic ties between India and Japan, China is the most important economic partner for each state, and will remain so for the foreseeable future. The consequences of security cooperation between Japan and India may carry economic consequences between these two nations and China. Going forward, overt security collaboration between India and Japan will irritate Chinese observers, and strengthen the power-balancing narrative in Beijing. In June, India and Japan conducted their first bilateral exercise off the coast of Tokyo in a move that will certainly add concerned undertones to future interactions with China. Nonetheless, in an acknowledgement of overreliance on China, Japanese firms have moved manufacturing—notably, that of rare-earth metals—to India in a move indicating a hedging strategy. India has reciprocated by attracting Japanese investment on critical infrastructure projects such as the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor.

More so than their relationships with Beijing, the manner in which India and Japan maneuver their relationship with Washington will be crucial in stabilizing the Indo-Pacific. Washington's calculus in this region involves much more than a single-minded focus on sea-lanes. Issues such as Taiwan, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and global financial stability come into play. The most positive effect of trilateral cooperation between the U.S., India, and Japan will be the bolstering of regional multilateralism through institutions such as the ASEAN Regional Forumn, the East Asia Summit, and the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy. At the same time, it will be important for Washington to avoid the perception of a "Concert of Democracies" aligned against China. Summits such as the late-2011 trilateral strategic dialogue between the three states in Washington may drive such perceptions. The Indian media and defense establishment particularly emphasized its participation in this dialogue as, at least partially, symptomatic of its place in determining Asia's broader security architecture.

There are several independent factors that will affect the Indo-Japanese relationship and its impact on peace and stability in the region. Washington's relationship with Beijing is the most obvious. Continued Chinese militarization and agitation in the South China Sea will aggravate security-dilemma perceptions, and reinforce the United States' commitment to Taiwan and Japan, potentially leading to destabilizing skirmishes. Should the United States decide to mute its naval presence in the region, Indian and Japanese forces will fill the vacuum. Additionally, the domestic situation in China, particularly concerning democratization, will have profound consequences on the extent of India and Japan's bilateral ties. Additionally, positive developments in the U.S.-ASEAN and U.S.-RoK relationships will be of further concern to China.

Other factors that are bound to become increasingly important include Japan's remilitarization debate. No longer are calls for a normalized and assertive Japanese "self-defense force" found solely among the nationalist right. Junichiro Koizumi began a trend towards military normalization with the non-combat deployment of the JSMDF and JGSDF to Iraq. Although Article 9 of the Japanese constitution may be here to stay, Japan's operational capacity continues to increase every year. Additionally, should Japan's high turnover rate on Prime Ministers ever abate, another Koizumi-esque leader may successfully maneuver the kantei to expand the JSDF's role as a mainstay in Japan's hard-power inventory. The DPJ's accession to power after more than fifty years of LDP leadership has certainly ushered a new kind of Japanese diplomacy—including calls for an "equal U.S.-Japan alliance."

India, on the other hand, is unlikely to behave predictably in its relationship with Japan. Its foreign policy will continue to be dominated by a focus on economic growth (which is coming under question after a decade of high annual GDP growth rates), border disputes with Pakistan and China, and national security. The "Manmohan Doctrine" and the Congress Party chose to prioritize economic growth at the cost of crafting a grand strategy that was anything but ad hoc and reactive to global and regional developments. Should India return to a BJP head of state after several years of Congress leadership, it may focus on a doctrinal approach to its international affairs that emphasizes long-term power gains over short-term reactive foreign policy. Under such circumstances, India may drive its partnership with Japan to new heights.

In the context of a world where the continuation of U.S. hegemony has come under widespread doubt, and perceptions of an ambitious and assertive China are on the rise, observers of Asian affairs should turn to India and Japan as potential sources of stability in the region. Ultimately, a strategic partnership between Asia's largest and richest democracies aimed at peace and stability creates a formidable defense against destabilizing forces, simultaneously preserving and propagating liberal-democratic values across the region. India and Japan stand for common values, share common interests, and are both closer to Washington than they are to Beijing. While they continue to engage Beijing, particularly on economic matters, they certainly fear its hegemony. Nevertheless, this bilateral relationship is one to watch in the coming years, and will certainly be a key determinant of international structural stability in the 21st century.

Ankit Panda is a researcher at the Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination at Princeton University.

 

[AVERAGE INDIAN]

Emperor eyes better India-Japan ties


Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, in a rare overseas trip, are scheduled to begin a tour of the Indian cities of New Delhi and Chennai on Saturday. The imperial couple's week-long visit is...

Please credit and share this article with others using this link:http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/381687/emperor-eyes-better-india-japan-ties. View our policies at http://goo.gl/9HgTd and http://goo.gl/ou6Ip. © Post Publishing PCL. All rights reserved.

 

[AVERAGE INDIAN]

Back Japan Against China's Hegemonism

The news of a welcome, if temporary, early-Sunday diplomatic breakthrough between the international community and Iran over its nuclear development efforts overshadowed an ominous announcement from China. Beijing last week declared an "air-defence identification zone" over a swathe of the East China Sea that is home to islands administered by Japan. The US and Japan have done well to challenge China's claim to airspace over the disputed island chain.

With both sides sending warplanes and warships to the islands, a mistake, deliberate or otherwise, could trigger hostilities. The area also includes waters claimed by Taiwan and South Korea, which too have registered their displeasure at China's move. Australian foreign minister Julie Bishop summoned Beijing's ambassador to voice opposition. Bishop said: "Australia has made clear its opposition to any coercive or unilateral actions to change the status quo in the East China Sea." Germany's government said the move "raised the risk of an armed incident between China and Japan". On Tuesday, the Japanese government persuaded its leading airlines to stop acceding to Chinese demands. All Nippon Airways had said that since Sunday it has been submitting flight plans to Chinese authorities for planes due to pass through the area. Late on Tuesday, Japanese news agencies reported that both All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines had reversed their decisions.

New Delhi should stoutly support the US and Japan and make it clear that China cannot unilaterally appropriate airspace rights over disputed territories with other countries. China has always browbeaten other countries into accepting its version of territorial disputes and India has been a victim of its expansionist designs. It is important that India supports those who stand up to Beijing's wayward ways. It is incumbent on China to back off and rescind its order declaring an "air defence identification zone" over the islands to prevent a looming threat to international peace.

Back Japan Against China's Hegemonism - The New Indian Express

 

[AVERAGE INDIAN]

From economic ties to strategic partnership++

For a politically rising Japan that is beginning to shed its pacifist blinkers, India is central to both its economic-revival and security-building strategies.

Asia's balance of power will be determined principally by events in East Asia and the Indian Ocean. In this light, the emerging Indo-Japanese entente is likely to help shape Asia's strategic future as much as China's ascent or America's Asian "pivot." Japan and India, as Asia's natural-born allies, have a pivotal role to play in preserving stability and helping to safeguard vital sea-lanes in the wider Indo-Pacific region — a region defined not only by the confluence of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, but also by its significance as the global trade and energy-supply hub.

LANDMARK EVENT

The India visit of Japan's Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko from November 30 promises to be a landmark event in the already fast-developing partnership between Asia's two leading democracies, which are strategically located on opposite flanks of the continent. In the more than 2,600-year history of the Japanese monarchy — the world's oldest continuous hereditary royalty — no emperor has been to India, although India has traditionally been referred to in Japan as Tenjiku, or the heavenly country.

Customarily, the Japanese Emperor's visit to any country is highly significant because it symbolises a watershed in relations with that nation. It was in recognition of the momentous nature of the royal trip that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appointed Ashwini Kumar as his special envoy with Cabinet rank in August to "prepare for the upcoming visit" of the imperial couple, and for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit early next year. Indeed, the India tour could be the last overseas visit of Emperor Akihito, who has undergone coronary and prostate cancer surgeries in the past decade and will turn 80 a couple of weeks after he returns home from Chennai.

India has been specially chosen for an imperial visit to signal Japan's commitment to forge closer ties. Japan is already doing more for India than any other economic partner of this country: it is the largest source of aid, and is playing a key role in helping India to improve its poor infrastructure, as illustrated by the Japanese-financed Western Freight Corridor, the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, and the Bangalore Metro Rail Project. Tokyo is also keen to add concrete strategic content to the bilateral ties.

The relationship, remarkably free of any strategic dissonance or bilateral dispute, traces its roots to the introduction of Buddhism in Japan in the 6th century CE. The Todaiji Temple in the ancient capital city of Nara is home to Japan's most famous and biggest statue — a great gilt bronze image of Lord Buddha. The statue's allegorical eyes-opening ceremony in 752 CE was conducted by a priest from India in the presence of Emperor Shômu, who declared himself a servant of the "Three Treasures" — the Buddha, the Buddhist law, and the monastic order. Japan's cultural heritage from India via China extends to Sanskrit influence on the Japanese language.

Japanese still bless a newly married couple by reciting an ancient proverb that they are the best bride and bridegroom across the three kingdoms of Kara (China), Tenjiku (India) and Hinomoto (Japan). In fact, Akihito, as the crown prince, came with his wife to India in 1960 on a honeymoon trip. During that visit, he laid the foundation stone of New Delhi's India International Centre and planted a sapling at the Japanese Embassy that has grown into a huge tree.

Today, the contrast between the disciplined Japanese society and tumultuous India could not be more striking. India has the world's largest youthful population, while Japan is ageing more rapidly than any other developed country. And whereas India has always valued strategic autonomy, Japan remains a model U.S. ally that hosts not only a large U.S. troop presence but also pays generously for the upkeep of the American forces on its soil.

Yet, the dissimilarities between the two countries increase the potential for close collaboration. Japan's heavy-manufacturing base and India's services-led growth — as well as their contrasting age structures — make their economies complementary, opening the path to generating strong synergies. India's human capital and Japan's financial and technological power can be a good match to help drive India's infrastructure development and great-power aspirations, and catalyse Japan's revival as a world power.

'NATURAL AND INDISPENSABLE'

For India, Japan is a critical source of capital and commercial technology. Indeed, there cannot be a better partner for India's development than the country that was the first non-western society to modernise and emerge as a world power, spearheading Asia's industrial and technology advances since the 19th century. Dr. Singh has underscored the importance of also building security collaboration with it, saying Indians "see Japan as a natural and indispensable partner in our quest for stability and peace in the vast" Indo-Pacific region.

For a politically rising Japan that is beginning to shed its pacifist blinkers, India is central to both its economic-revival and security-building strategies. After prolonged economic stagnation, Japan faces difficult challenges, including a shrinking population, a spiralling public debt, a fundamentally deflationary environment, and a security dilemma compounded by constraints arsing from the U.S.-imposed, post-war Constitution. However, Mr. Abe's dynamic leadership and control of both houses of parliament is aiding his moves to place Japan on the right track.

Japan and India, as energy-poor countries heavily reliant on oil imports from the unstable Persian Gulf region, are seriously concerned over mercantilist efforts to assert control over energy supplies and the transport routes for them. So the maintenance of a peaceful and lawful maritime domain, including unimpeded freedom of navigation, is critical to their security and economic well-being. That is why they have moved from emphasising shared values to seeking to protect shared interests, including by holding joint naval exercises.

These facts explain why India and Japan boast the fastest-growing bilateral relationship in Asia today. Since they unveiled a "strategic and global partnership" in 2006, their political and economic engagement has deepened at a remarkable pace. Their free-trade pact, formally known as the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), came into force in 2011. They have even established an alliance to jointly develop rare-earth minerals so as to reduce their dependence on China.

The level and frequency of India-Japan official engagement have become extraordinary. In addition to holding an annual Prime Minister-level summit, the two also conduct several yearly ministerial dialogues: A strategic dialogue between their Foreign Ministers; a security dialogue between their Defence Ministers; a policy dialogue between India's Commerce Minister and Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry; and separate ministerial-level energy and economic dialogues. And, to top it off, they also hold a trilateral strategic dialogue with the United States.

According to Dr. Singh, "India and Japan have a shared vision of a rising Asia." Translating that vision into practice demands strengthening their still-fledgling strategic cooperation and working together to ensure a pluralistic, stable Asian order.

Japan, in keeping with its pacifist Constitution, does not possess offensive systems, such as nuclear submarines, large aircraft carriers, and long-range missiles. But with the world's sixth largest defence budget, it has a formidable defensive capability, an impressive armament-production base, and Asia's largest naval fleet, including top-of-the-line conventional subs, large helicopter-carrying destroyers, and Aegis-equipped cruisers capable of shooting down ballistic missiles.

India — the world's largest arms importer that desperately needs to develop an indigenous arms-production capability — must forge closer defence ties with Japan, including co-developing weapon systems and working together on missile defence. The most stable economic partnerships in the world, such as the Atlantic community and the Japan-U.S. partnership, have been built on the bedrock of security collaboration. Economic ties that lack the underpinning of strategic partnerships tend to be less stable and even volatile, as is apparent from China's economic relationships with India, Japan and the U.S. Through close strategic collaboration, Japan and India must lead the effort to build freedom, prosperity and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

Against this background, the Emperor's visit promises to live up to Mr. Abe's hope of being a "historic event." It is likely to herald an enduring Indo-Japanese strategic partnership.

From economic ties to strategic partnership - The Hindu

 

[cobra commando]

India, Japan race to seal
nuclear agreement before
Abe's visit


India, Japan race to seal nuclear agreement before Abe's visit - The Times of India

 

[cobra commando]

India, Japan defence
minister-level talks on
Monday

Japan defence minister Itsunori Onodera is on a four-day visit to India and is expected to meet the top political and military leadership of the country to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral military ties. Photo: AFP

New Delhi: Ways to strengthen military ties and sale of Japanese amphibious aircraft to Indian armed forces are expected to be discussed during the meeting of the defence ministers of the two countries here on Monday. The two countries are also expected to discuss the regional security scenario during the meeting between defence minister A.K. Antony and his Japanese counterpart Itsunori Onodera against the backdrop of the recent tensions between Japan and China on East China Sea issue, defence ministry officials said. Onodera is on a four-day visit to India and is expected to meet the top political and military leadership of the country to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral military ties, they said. During the discussions, the Japanese side is also expected to raise the issue of sale of Japanese US-2 amphibious aircraft to the Indian armed forces to guard their island territories. India and Japan are also expected to regularize maritime cooperation and hold joint exercises. Last month, the Japanese and Indian Navy held joint exercises in the Bay of Bengal after the maiden exercise was held off the coast of Tokyo in 2012. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is also expected to visit India later this month.


India, Japan defence minister-level talks on Monday - Livemint

 

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Japan Considers Greater India Air-Force Links Amid China Tension


Japan Considers Greater India Air-Force Links Amid China Tension - Bloomberg

 

[AVERAGE INDIAN]

Japanese defence minister in India to discuss security issues

Japan's Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera received a tri-service guard of honour from the Indian Armed Forces soon after his arrival in New Delhi on Monday for regional and bilateral security and military talks.

Onodera, who is on a four-day visit to India, was received by his Indian counterpart A.K.Antony.

Onodera would be meeting top political leaders and the Indian military leadership to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral military ties.

According to media reports, Onodera is also expected to raise the issue of the sale of Japanese US-2 amphibious aircraft to the Indian Armed Forces to guard their island territories.

India and Japan are also expected to regularise maritime cooperation and hold joint exercises.

Last year, Japanese and Indian Navy held joint exercises in the Bay of Bengal after the maiden exercise was held off the coast of Tokyo in 2012.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe would be visiting India later this month.

Japanese defence minister in India to discuss security issues | Business Standard

 

[AVERAGE INDIAN]

Japan, India aim for greater air force ties amid China tension

New Delhi: Japan and India moved to expand air-force ties before Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visits New Delhi this month, bolstering relations two months after China declared an air-defence identification zone in a disputed area.

Japan's defense minister Itsunori Onodera and his Indian counterpart A.K. Antony discussed starting talks between air-force officials while reaffirming plans to conduct regular naval exercises, according to an Indian government statement on Monday. The Asia's second- and third-largest economies may also conduct pilot exchanges.

The ministers decided to strengthen India-Japan defence consultation and cooperation, including those related to maritime security, the government said. Indian naval vessels will visit Japan to conduct exercises this year, it said.

Japan and India, which both have territorial disputes with China, are increasing ties as tensions escalate in Northeast Asia. China and South Korea rejected Abe's call for talks on Monday after his visit to a war shrine last week drew an angry response from both countries.

Shinzo Abe's trip to India will be the first by a Japanese leader since 2011, when the countries agreed to boost security ties in the face of China's growing assertiveness.

Last month, Japanese Emperor Akihito visited India for the first time in five decades, and the nations' navies conducted bilateral training exercises for the second time in as many years. The countries have also increased financial ties, with India approving an increase in the bilateral currency swap arrangement between the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Bank of Japan to $50 billion from $15 billion.

China in November unnerved its neighbours by declaring an air defence zone in the East China Sea that overlaps with Japan's zone and includes uninhabited islands claimed by both nations.

An April military standoff between China and India marked the most serious incident between the nuclear-armed neighbours in a quarter of a century on the Himalayan border where the world's most-populous countries fought a brief war in 1962.

Japan, India aim for greater air force ties amid China tension - Livemint

 

[AVERAGE INDIAN]

India, Japan building great wall against China with military tie

New Delhi: India and Japan on Monday decided to step up military ties as they discussed issues of regional and global security during talks between Defence Minister A. K. Antony and his visiting Japanese counterpart Itsunori Onodera here, an official release said.

"The two ministers extensively and frankly exchanged ideas regarding regional and global security challenges, as well as bilateral defence cooperation and exchanges between India and Japan. They shared views on issues relating to the peace, stability and prosperity of the region," the release said.

Onodera briefed Antony about Japan's national security strategy and the national defence programme guidelines, which were adopted in December 2013.

Expressing satisfaction at the progress of their ties, the two sides agreed to continue high-level visit exchanges under which the Indian defence minister will visit Japan later this year and also decided to have bilateral naval exercise to be held in Japan.

"The two countries also agreed to hold the third '2 plus 2' dialogue and the defence secretary-level 4th defence policy dialogue in Delhi in 2014 and agreed to promote exchanges on UN peacekeeping operations," the release said.

The two sides also agreed to continue expert exchanges in disaster relief and counter terrorism between both Indian and Japanese armies and discuss possibility of conducting staff talks between their air forces along with professional exchanges of test-pilots and in the field of flight safety.

The Week | India, Japan building great wall against China with military tie

 

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India, Japan Should Focus On The Asian Strategic Framework – Analysis


Eurasia Review

 

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Here again, we need to review the history a little bit, so that we can understand this new turn of events between Japan and India. Japan has been in a straightjacket put on by western nations after its defeat in WW2 when it was attacked with Nuclear Weapons. Japan couldnot have an independent foreign policy since then. Even today, 1.2 trillion dollars of Japanese money is invested in US govt. bonds. But, now, with somewhat weakening of western grip on
Japan and emergence of Nationalistic Prime Minister ,Mr Shizo Abe, it is trying to wiggle out of tight western grip. Also, aggressive China is forcing Japan to have a stronger military as the financial weakening of western powers is making it harder for them to protect Japan. Thus, enters India-Japan symbiotic partenership. Japan needs to invest its huge savings in a place which gives some return on its investment because US bonds are giving almost zero interest.
India needs money to develop its outdated roads, rails, airports ,ports etc. I think its a WIN WIN situation for both India and Japan. India also provides access to its 1.2 billion strong consumer market and low cost military hardware which can be good for Japanese comapny profits and strategic security in the future. India and Japan have been neutral towards each other and never had an adversarial relationship.

 

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India-Japan Defense Ministers Agree To Expand Strategic Cooperation | The Diplomat

 

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Sky is the Only Limit for India-Japan Ties

The growing political and economic relationship between India and Japan is reflected in the recent series of high-level visits from the land of the rising sun. Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe is slated to arrive in India to be the guest of honour at the Republic Day parade, just weeks after the landmark Indian tour of Japan's venerated Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko. India-Japan defence ties received a boost during Japanese defence minister Itsunori Onodera's visit earlier this month. He and his Indian counterpart A K Antony were able to plan a number of programmes in which the defence forces of the two countries will join hands.

The significance of India's abiding relations with Japan cannot be lost on anyone who has an idea of the changing power-equations in Asia. Japan and India are Asia's second and third largest economies. Though China has replaced Japan as the world's second largest economy, Japan is way ahead on many social indices like literacy, life expectancy and per capita income. India too has been catching up with Japan to emerge as one of the leading knowledge-based economies. Independent India has always maintained the best relationship with Japan.

Only sky is the limit for collaborations between India and Japan in sectors like science and technology, defence and oil exploration. What brings them together, particularly in defence-related areas, is the threat they face from a common source. China recently declared Abe persona non grata after his recent visit to the Yasukuni war shrine in Tokyo. More problematic has been China making a sudden claim to an island that has been under Japanese occupation for long. This has also angered the US, which is committed to protect Japan. China has been looking askance at India's agreement with Vietnam to look for oil in its maritime waters. A tightening of ties with Japan can not only counter the Chinese threat but also increase investments from Japan.

Sky is the Only Limit for India-Japan Ties - The New Indian Express

 

[Srinivas_K]

An India-Japan Alliance Brewing?

On January 26, India will celebrate its sixty-fourth year as a republic, and the chief guest for the Republic Day festivities will be Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe. It's an honor no Japanese leader has been accorded for four decades. The Indians have a clear purpose in extending it to the man whose efforts to break the strictures imposed by Japan's "peace constitution" have elicited concern, and in the case of South and North Korea and China condemnation, in various Asian countries. That's because for India, a Japan with greater military muscle is not something to be feared but rather something to be welcomed. The reason for this attitude on New Delhi's part can be summarized in five letters: China.

As for Japan, particularly since Abe's last (and ill-fated) stint as Prime Minister (2006-2007), it has come to see India—a country with 1.3 billion people, Asia's third-largest economy, and substantial and growing military power—as a natural partner given Tokyo's worries about what it sees as an increasingly powerful, assertive and threatening China. There's a natural fit between the two putative partners: Japan's technological prowess and wealth complements India's size, and a New Delhi-Tokyo duet would stretch China's power across two widely separated fronts (and more if the partnership can be complemented by the United States, Australia, Vietnam and Indonesia, something that Japan would like to see) while also serving as a counterweight to a Pax Sinica in East Asia.

Like Japan, India is a democracy, a fact that facilitates cooperation between New Delhi and Tokyo and makes it easier to build trust and to gain public support for the alignment in both societies. In contrast to India's relationship with China, there are no major issues on which Japanese and Indian interests clash. As part of its Look East policy, India is seeking partners and among its aims is to create counterbalances to China and to ensure that Beijing's quest for primacy in East Asia does not go uncontested and enable it to build strategic depth in India's eastern flank. More specifically, the 4,200-kilometer Sino-Indian border remains disputed and continues to be a flashpoint, as witnessed by the reported incursion last April of Chinese troops into terrain claimed by India in the Depsang Valley, in Ladakh region in the western sector of the frontier.

Yes, there has been a surge in Sino-Indian trade (up from $250 million in 1990 to $66 billion in 2012), which, depending on the year one considers, now makes China India's largest or second-largest trade partner. Yet the humiliating defeat India suffered at Chinese hands in 1962 has left a lasting mark. One needn't speak to very many of its members to understand that the national-security establishment in New Delhi still sees China as India's premier security threat. By comparison, the recent fracas created by the nanny problems of an Indian diplomat based in the United States amounts to a hiccup.

Commentary: An India-Japan Alliance Brewing? | The National Interest