Sansad TV Perspective: India-Japan Ties

In the series Sansad TV Perspective, we bring you an analysis of the discussion featured on the insightful programme ‘Perspective’ on Sansad TV, on various important topics affecting India and also the world. This analysis will help you immensely for the IAS exam, especially the mains exam, where a well-rounded understanding of topics is a prerequisite for writing answers that fetch good marks.

In this article, we feature the discussion on the topic: India – Japan Ties

Anchor: Vishal Dahiya

Participants:

1. Aftab Seth, Former Ambassador to Japan
2. Bharat Joshi, Co-Chairman, CII Japan Committee
3. Sanjay Bhatia, Former President, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry
4. Prof. Harsh V. Pant, Head, Strategic Studies Programme, ORF

Context

This episode of perspective is based on “India Japan Relations”.

Background

• The India-Japan bilateral summit was held amidst rising tensions over the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
• The Indian Prime Minister and his Japanese counterpart held talks to further strengthen the bilateral ties. 
• Japan and India are expected to improve the economic cooperation between them and also assess the situation in Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific.

India-Japan Relations 

• The year 2022 marks 70 years of diplomatic relations between the countries.
• The friendly relationship between the two countries has a long history rooted in spiritual, cultural and civilization ties. 
• The relations between the two countries were revived by Japanese Prime Minister Mori in 2000 when the Japan-India Global Partnership in the 21st century was established.
• In 2006, both the Prime Ministers signed to upgrade the partnership to a Global and Strategic Partnership with the provision of annual Prime Ministerial Summits. 
• In 2014, in the 9th Annual Summit Meeting, two sides upgraded the relationship to a ‘Special Strategic and Global Partnership’.

Significance of defence and strategic relations

• The defence ties between the two countries have seen a significant transformation post the historic visit of PM Mori in 2000.
• Both countries also became members of the QUAD which is a multilateral security dialogue.
• The bilateral security relationship between the two countries plays a key role in the geopolitical strategies in the Indo-Pacific region.
  • As Indo-Pacific is now said to be the theatre of global politics, both the countries being the powerhouses in the region along with having strategic interests in the region, their relationship gains significance.
• The countries also share converging views on various issues and also have shared interests in various matters.
• Experts feel that there are no two countries across the globe that have such a level of convergence on strategic matters as India and Japan have.
• The China factor also has played a crucial role in shaping the strategic ties between India and Japan.
  • The rise of China as a superpower in the region challenges and poses a significant risk to the shared interest of India and Japan in the region and hence it has become inevitable for both countries to have stronger and deeper strategic and defence ties.

Economic ties between the countries

• The economic cooperation between the two countries stands on the bedrock of “3Ts” which includes trade, talent and technology.
• Both the countries are a part of many global groupings such as the Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI).
  • SCRI is a trilateral approach to trade, with India and Australia. 
  • Supply chain resilience is an approach wherein a country, instead of being dependent on just one or a few nations, has diversified its supply risk across a range of supplying nations.
• Also, a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) was signed between Japan and India in 2011.
• The recently launched Technical Intern Training Program (TITP) which aims to send Indian technical interns to Japan for on-the-job training for a period of three to five years also has a huge potential to deepen economic ties.
• An India-Japan Digital Partnership (I-JDP) further increases cooperation in S&T/ICT, focusing more on “Digital ICT Technologies”. 
  • This also includes establishing a “Start-up Hub” between India and Japan.
• The vast market in India, along with its human resources, recent reforms by the government in terms of taxation, subsidies, infrastructure investment, labour, finance and governance would attract further investments from Japan.

India’s Imports from Japan (in Million Dollars)

India’s Exports to Japan (in Million Dollars)

Image source: Sansad TV Perspective 

Way forward

• Considering the fact that there are more Nepalese and Vietnamese in Japan than Indians there is a need to further increase people-to-people contact.
• In the strategic aspect, India needs to acknowledge the fact that it is the only QUAD member with a divergent stand against the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
  • India also needs to take into account the disturbances between Japan and Russia and the fact that there is no peace treaty between Japan and Russia.
• As China is causing problems to both countries,
  • Japan in Senkaku Island and the South China Sea
  • India in Ladakh and the Eastern sectors
  • Both the countries must align their policies and show confluence in countering China and its dominance in the region.
• Further, the two countries must look to overcome the disruptions in trade that have been caused due to the COVID pandemic.
• India must look to scale up its business in Japan and with initiatives such as Make in India, Atmanirbhar Bharat, Skill India programme and PM Gati Shakti, India has provided attractive market opportunities for Japan.
• India must also focus on improving ease of doing business and in skill-building that will help attract Japanese investments into India.

Read more summaries of Perspective in the link.

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