LUCID MAINS CURRENT AFFAIRS 2019

23. INDIA AND JAPAN

GEOGRAPHY
• Hokkaido
• Honshu
• Shikoku
• Kyushu
• Kuril + Ryukyu
• Senkaku/Diaoyu island in relation to China, Japan, and
Taiwan for those that are geographically-challenged +
Guam
• Surronding Seas – Korean Strait
• dependent on sea-lanes for its energy, commerce, industry and security
DIPLOMATIC
 Initial Phase
o India in Nam , Japan in US Bloc – Japan Security Treaty
o Critical of nuclear tests in 1974 and 1998- not signing CTBT NPT
o Lifting of Japan’s post-Pokharan II sanctions in 2001.
 Act East Policy + Free, and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy = FOIIP
o Look East ( Economic) --> Act East (Political + Security)- India- Japan Act
East Forum
o India’s ‘free, open, inclusive’ Indo- Pacific (FOIIP) policy
o lign Japan’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy with India’s Act East Policy,
including through enhancing maritime security cooperation, improving
connectivity in the wider Indo-Pacific region, strengthening cooperation with
ASEAN, and promoting discussions between strategists and experts of the two
countries
o Shores of Africa to that of the Americas
o Extending Indo-US GSP ; Indo- Pacific Command
o SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) + IORA
o 5 S: Sammaan (respect); Samvad (dialogue); Sahyog (cooperation), Shanti
(peace), and Samridhi (prosperity).
 Countering China
o BRI –CPEC , String of Pearls
o South China Sea – Freedom Navigation; Sovereignty; Rule based Settlement
of Disputes and World Order.
o Values-based partnership in achieving a free, open and prosperous Indo-Pacific
region where sovereignty and international law are respected, and differences
are resolved through dialogue, and where all countries, large or small, enjoy
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 freedom of navigation and overflight, sustainable development, and a free, fair,
and open trade and investment system.
o QUAD 2.0
 Inclusive Shared Partnership and Values: Asia-Africa Growth Corridor
o During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Japan in 2016, both India and
Japan sought to institutionalize socio-economic development of Asia and Africa
o The Asia-Africa Growth Corridor is an India-Japan economic cooperation
agreement aimed at the socio-economic development of Asia and Africa. The
vision document for AAGC was released by India in the 2017 African
Development Bank meeting.
o The aim of the Asia-Africa Growth Corridor is to develop infrastructure
and digital connectivity in Africa through Indo-Japan collaboration. It will
envisage a people-centric sustainable growth strategy by engaging various
stakeholders. The priority areas will be health and pharmaceuticals, agriculture
and agro-processing, disaster management and skill enhancement.
o AAGC will mainly be a sea corridor linking Africa with India and other countries
of South-East Asia and Oceania. It plans on carrying the same out by
rediscovering ancient sea-routes and formulating new ones that will link ports in
Jamnagar (Gujarat) with Djibouti in the Gulf of Eden, ports of Mombasa and
Zanzibar to ports near Madurai and Kolkata to Sittwe port in Myanmar.

 The Asia-Africa Growth Corridor is to be based on four pillars:

 Enhancing capacity and skills.
 Quality Infrastructure and Institutional Connectivity.
 Development and Cooperation Projects.
 People-to-People partnership.
o Consent and development of all; sovereignty and territorial integrity
o Community based than debt trap mega projects

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 o In other countries
 SriLanka : Petronet LNG Ltd, India's biggest importer of gas, and its
Japanese partners will set up Sri Lanka's first liquefied natural gas (LNG)
terminal near Colombo. Both will expand Trinconmalee port.
 Bangladesh: India and China are financing different parts of the Payra deep-
sea port project. And Japan is financing another deep-sea port, at Matarbari.
 Thailand and Myanmar: Dawei port
 INITIATIVES
o Annual Bilateral Summits: Meeting between the Prime Ministers of the two
countries since 2006. India is the only country with which Japan holds annual
bilateral summits. The only other country with which India has a similar
arrangement is Russia.
o Special Strategic and Global Partnership:
 Working Together for Peace and Prosperity of the Indo-Pacific Region and
the World.
 It was following initial statuses like Global Partnership and Global and
Strategic Partnership. Following SSGP in 2015, both leaders came out with
a Japan-India Vision 2025 and called for an action oriented partnership.
 It involved regular and flexible interactions
 It didn’t involve any entrapment into disputes: Unlike normal alliances, SSGP
do not demand commitments to a partner’s disputes with other countries.
o 2+2 Dialogue: Defence and Foreign Secretary as well ministerial level. Japan
became the second nation, after the US, where Ministerial level 2+2 Dialogue
mechanism is being used.
o India-Japan Strategic Dialogue: summit held between the foreign
ministers alternately each year since 2007. The 9 th dialogue was held in
Tokyo on 28-29 March 2018 after a gap of almost three years.
o Association in different international organizations
 G4 – Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan support each other's bids for
permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council.
 WTO- Japan supported India in the solar panel dispute with the US but
also supported US complaint against India’s export promotion schemes.
 Support for India’s initiative to join the Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC), Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
(RCEP) and Nuclear Suppliers Group.
 Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA)
 Work together on issues like proliferation of Weapons of Mass
Destruction (WMDs), terrorism, space and cyber security, United
Nations Security Council (UNSC) reform, climate change and
environment, UNSC Resolution 1267
 13 Annual Bilateral Summit key developments
th

o Indian PM was the first foreign leader that the Japan PM hosted at his
personal home -Kantei residence near Mount Fuji.
o Foreign and Defence Ministerial (2+2) Dialogue.

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 o Commencement of negotiations on the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing
Agreement.
o India-Japan Business Platform will be established to enhance the
development of industrial corridors and industrial network in the region
o $75-billion bilateral currency-swap agreement
o Launch of a new digital partnership that will cover Artificial Intelligence (AI)
and the Internet of Things (IoT).
o Japan has ratified the framework agreement for the International Solar
Alliance. It is the 71st country to sign the agreement and the 48th to ratify
it.
o First ever cooperation in Yoga and Ayurveda to provide holistic healthcare
in both countries
 Challenges
o India doesn’t have pockets deep enough to offer freebies to Africa. All it
can do is make African nations stakeholders in development.
o Japan, ever since it’s Meiji opening 150 years ago, has never been able to
successfully postulate an order beyond a Western-led alliance framework.
New Delhi remains conspicuously committed to a non-Western, pluralistic
model of cooperative security in Asia.
o Declining US involvement in the region especially given uncertainty over
US's future foreign policy.
SECURITY /STRATEGIC COOPERATION
 Constraints of Japan
o Post WW-II Constitutional curbs on the maintenance of military/naval forces and
their deployment overseas to protect ship lanes and energy traffic.
o Absence of the right of belligerency to the state, but also the authority to raise
national armed forces. Japan, therefore maintains three wings of a putative
“Japanese Self Defence Force” (JSDF).
o Distance from energy hubs in Gulf region.
 Advantages of India
o Significant naval power
o Dominant peninsular location closer to shipping-lanes: mid-way along trade-
routes connecting East Asia with the Middle East and Africa
o Indian Ocean vision of SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) to
the Indo-Pacific region.
o Observer in Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS)
 Military Exercises
o Malabar Joint Exercise between Indian, US and Japan Navy (Japan Maritime
Self-Defence Force (JMSDF) )
o Dharma Guardian joint military exercises between Indian Army and Japan’s
Ground Self-Defence Force (JGSDF)
 QUAD (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue)
o The Quad—an informal consultative mechanism comprising the United States,
Australia, Japan, and India

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 o The dialogue was initiated in 2007 by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan in the
name of “Strategic Diamond” Initiative. It was paralleled by Exercise Malabar.
But soon it lost steam.
o During the 2017 ASEAN Summit the quadrilateral alliance was revived. India
joined QUAD with the aim to contain China’s aggressive actions in the South
China Sea, and forays in India’s neighbourhood.
o However, with improved relations with China recently, especially after the
Wuhan Summit India is seen less active in promoting the Quad. India declined
a request from Australia to join the Malabar naval exercises.
 Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement under discussion
o A logistic pact similar to that India signed with US (Logistics Exchange
Memorandum of Agreement) and France.
o It would allow Japanese ships to get fuel and servicing at Indian naval bases
especially in the strategically important Andaman and Nicobar islands.
 Challenges
o Japanese constitution limits the size and engagement of the Japanese army
which will be an obstacle for India the greatest importer of weapons in the world.
o JSDF is limited in its ability to undertake combat operations or overseas
deployments and its dependent on US consent.
o Military equipment - US-2i amphibious aircraft purchase from Japan have been
deadlocked over issues of price and technology transfer.
o QUAD erodes the strength of a truly “free and open Indo-Pacific” by discrediting
the role of each state in the region shaping their own policy.
o Decade-long security dialogues has failed to throw up any deliverables so far.
There exists no conventional threat-specific contingency scenario in which the
two militaries can practicably cooperate.
o There’s an ambiguity if India can become a ‘first responder’ in times of
emergencies as well as a ‘net security provider in the region.
o Japan, while highlighting its own security concerns in the East and South China
Seas, is seen to play down the multiple threats that India faces from China.
Similarly there’s little defence or security leverage for India extending its
operations in the east of the Straits of Malacca, especially in cases like South
China Sea dispute.
ECONOMIC:
TRADE AND INVESTMENT
 Initially aided the import substitution regime of India. Eg. Suzuki Motor
Corporation brining advanced technology and management ethics to India
 India offers
o Huge consumption base with demographic dividend
o Infrastructure possibilities in Smart Cities Make in India
 Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement 2011

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 o It’s a comprehensive agreement covering goods, Services, Movement of
Natural Persons, Investments, Intellectual Property Rights, Custom Procedures
and other trade related issues.
o The CEPA envisages abolition of tariffs over 94% of items traded between India
and Japan over a period of 10 years.
 One among the largest investors in India. In 2018, it only followed the Mauritius
and Singapore in FDI inflows to India.
 For increasing investments from Japan, DIPP has started Japan Plus in addition
to Invest India and India-Japan Investment Promotion Partnership.
 India-Japan Business Platform to enhance the development of industrial
corridors and industrial network in the region
 $75-billion bilateral currency swap agreement: It will allow both countries to
borrow in US dollars or the currency of the other country Yen for India and Rupee
for Japan), up to $75 billion. This buffer ensures that the central bank will have
enough resources if there is currency value fluctuation. Since the exchange rate
will be fixed in the swap deal, the foreign exchange risk is mitigated. The finance
cost is also lower since interest will be charged only on the amount drawn through
the facility. It leads to stability in foreign exchange and capital markets in the
country in the event of rupee depreciation.
 Civil Nuclear Agreement 2016
o It would enable Japan to export nuclear power plant technology, provide finance
for nuclear power plants, assist in nuclear waste management and joint
manufacture nuclear power plant components in India for peaceful purposes.
o The deal is essential for bringing a network of nuclear energy cooperation for
India. Japanese company Toshiba -- which owns Westinghouse -- will have a
major role when US nuclear major supplies technology for the pair of six
reactors in Andhra Pradesh. Hitachi, also from Japan, has stakes in GE, which
has also proposed to set reactors in India.
o India is the only non-NPT signatory with which Japan has entered into a civil
nuclear deal in what can be described as a recognition for Delhi’s impeccable
non-proliferation record.
o Termination clause: Japan might exercise its right to terminate nuclear
cooperation if India violates status quo like conducting nuclear test.
o So far Civil Nuclear deal with Bangladesh, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Japan, UK,
Australia, South Korea, Kazakhstan, Russia, Argentina, USA and France.
 Challenges
o Despite CEPA trade engagements have been below potential. Bilateral annual
trade now stands at a pitiable $15 billion. Japan’s trade with China despite
troubled political relations is now close to $300 billion.

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ECONOMIC: INFRASTRUCTURE
 India’s ‘Act East’ policy and Japan’s ‘Partnership for Quality Infrastructure’
Act-East’ outreach matches.
 Japan is the largest bilateral donor for India in the form of Official Development
Assistance’s (ODA) loan, grant aid and technological cooperation disbursement
assistance. It supports India’s efforts for accelerated economic development
particularly in priority areas like power, transportation, environmental projects and
projects related to basic human needs.
 Major projects receiving Japan assistance :
o Mumbai -Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) Shinkansen system
o Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC)
o Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor and Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor
(CBIC)
o Delhi Metro Project
o Varanasi City partnership agreement with the Kyoto city.
o Clean Ganga Project
 Region specific projects
o Japan-India Act East Forum: It aims at key infrastructure projects such as road
connectivity, electricity, water supply and sewage, to social and environmental
sustainability such as forest management projects utilizing bamboo and
community empowerment, as well as people-to-people exchanges including the
"IRIS Program” inviting youth from the NER to Japan.
o Investment in Andaman and Nicobar Islands: For the first time is foreign
investment was allowed in the Andaman. It aims for upgrading civilian
infrastructure on these islands.
 Asia-Africa Growth Corridor: Japan – India infrastructure initiatives are
environmentally friendly and financially sustainable, with project managers
laying particular stress on life cycle costs and asset resilience. Importance of
"quality infrastructure” which, among others ensures alignment with local economic
and development strategies, safety, resilience, social and environmental impacts,
and job creation as well as capacity building for the local communities.
 Challenges:
o Not a single joint infra project has taken off, including in Myanmar and the
Mekong countries where the two share complementary interests.
o Despite 13 years after it was announced, the Dedicated Freight Corridor
between the two cities is now barely half done.
TECHNOLOGICAL
 Japan’s advanced technology and India’s rich human resources can transform
both countries into new centres of production in the global industrial network. -
India’s strength of software and Japan’s pioneering hardware industry can aid
India’s economic and technological modernisation.
 Digital partnership on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) was
launched.

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 In July 2018, the two sides agreed to collaborate on dual-use technologies to
strengthen defence cooperation, including research on unmanned ground vehicle
robotics.
 Japan has even agreed to train 30,000 Indians for a period of 10 years in the
Japan-India Institute for Manufacturing (JIM),
 “SAKURA Exchange Program" is being implemented by Department of Science
and Technology of India and JST.
 Japan is a leading partner in India’s “Make in India,” “Start-up India,” “Skill India,”
and “Digital India” initiatives.
 The two nations are work together on research into Unmanned Ground Vehicle
(UGV) technology, robotics, space, Cybersecurity and Disaster Management.
 the first lithium-ion battery factory in India by a joint venture of three Japanese
companies – Suzuki, Toshiba and Denso

CULTURAL
 Buddhist and Religious tradition
o Mahayana Buddhism, after originating from India, was introduced to Japan
through the East Asian trade route in the sixth century. Later Vajrayana
Buddhism was also introduced and both had lasting effect on the native culture.
o Buddhe Siddham script – a derivative of Sanskrit, is still used in many Japanese
Buddhist temples for the writing of mantras and sutras.
o Hindu deities that were absorbed into the Buddhist canon, including Saraswati,
Ganesha, Brahma and Garuda continue to be worshipped in Japan.

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 Democratic Value System
o India is the largest democracy in Asia and Japan the most prosperous. Both
countries share democratic values and commitment to human rights, pluralism
and open society.
 Modern history
o The Indian National Army lead by Subhas Chandra Bose received support
Japanese Army. Bose’s Provisional Government of Free India was recognized
by the Diet, in 1943.
o Justice Radhabinod Pal’s dissented in the Tokyo war crimes trials of 1946
o India followed a separate Indo-Japanese Peace Treaty instead of attending San
Francisco Conference, according honour and equality to Japan, in 1952.
 “Namaste India” is the largest Indian Festival in Japan held annually.
 In the 13th Bilateral Summit, the first ever cooperation in Yoga and Ayurveda to
provide holistic healthcare in both countries was formed.
DIASPORA
 The old Indian community in Japan focused on trading in textiles, , gems and
jewellery. In recent years it includes IT professionals and engineers working for
Indian and Japanese firms as well as professionals in management, finance,
education, and S&T research.
 The Nishikasai area in Tokyo is emerging as a “mini-India”.
 Cool EMS Service’ was started, under which Japanese food items permissible
under Indian regulations are transported in cool boxes from Japan to India through
postal channels
CONCLUSION
 Japan must adopt an approach which is more independent and less attached to
the West.
 Rise of East: 1905, when a Japanese fleet, commanded by Admiral Togo,
decimated much of Imperial Russia’s navy at the Battle of Tsushima Strait. 21st
century could be an Asian century only with a strong India-Japan relationship at its
core.
 Better World Order
o Rules-based and inclusive world order that fosters trust and confidence by
enhancing communication and connectivity to ensure rule of law, unimpeded
trade and flow of people, technology and ideas for shared prosperity.

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