The Tokyo story
Hawks in India have always been sore with Japan’s pacifist position with regard to nuclear weapons.
Japan urging India to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) would seem that differences between the two countries on the crucial issue remain unchanged. There is however a shift in perception. Japan recognises India’s new importance in the global arena, especially in the economic sphere.
Japan is aware of the fact that it is no more the pre-eminent economy in Asia and in the world and that India and China will dominate the scene in the future. It is not going to change its stance on the nuclear issue in a hurry, but it will not cling to past positions in an obstinate manner. There is a sign of what it wants its relations with India to be in the future in the revival of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC).
In his state visit to New Delhi on Tuesday Japanese prime minister Yukio Hatoyama has indicated at a joint press briefing along with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh that cooperation in high end, dual-use technology will be considered.
Hawks in India have always been sore with Japan’s pacifist position with regard to nuclear weapons. They have argued that it is hypocritical on the part of Tokyo to sermonise while taking advantage tacitly of the nuclear shied provided by the US. It is a harsh criticism because Japan’s pacifism is based in public sentiment as much as it is in strategic calculation. The Japanese have not forgotten the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki caused by the atomic bombs that the Americans dropped on the two cities and which ended World War II and it would be unfair to brush it aside.
There is also the need to understand the reasons for the low volume of India-Japanese trade. According to a study by an economic research group, Japanese corporations look to developing long-term relations with their customers and they are keen to maintain quality control. Government and businesses in India must learn to appreciate the Japanese way and strengthen bilateral relations.
It would be short-sighted to dismiss Japan as a spent power. It is more than a truism that India should engage Japan much more than it has done so far, and it should not be confined to economic and technological cooperation. Japan still remains the first Asian nation which has outclassed rich and developed Western countries and it has many lessons to offer. Unfortunately, Japan is largely an unknown Asian power for many in India. This should be rectified.
Japan is aware of the fact that it is no more the pre-eminent economy in Asia and in the world and that India and China will dominate the scene in the future. It is not going to change its stance on the nuclear issue in a hurry, but it will not cling to past positions in an obstinate manner. There is a sign of what it wants its relations with India to be in the future in the revival of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC).
In his state visit to New Delhi on Tuesday Japanese prime minister Yukio Hatoyama has indicated at a joint press briefing along with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh that cooperation in high end, dual-use technology will be considered.
Hawks in India have always been sore with Japan’s pacifist position with regard to nuclear weapons. They have argued that it is hypocritical on the part of Tokyo to sermonise while taking advantage tacitly of the nuclear shied provided by the US. It is a harsh criticism because Japan’s pacifism is based in public sentiment as much as it is in strategic calculation. The Japanese have not forgotten the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki caused by the atomic bombs that the Americans dropped on the two cities and which ended World War II and it would be unfair to brush it aside.
There is also the need to understand the reasons for the low volume of India-Japanese trade. According to a study by an economic research group, Japanese corporations look to developing long-term relations with their customers and they are keen to maintain quality control. Government and businesses in India must learn to appreciate the Japanese way and strengthen bilateral relations.
It would be short-sighted to dismiss Japan as a spent power. It is more than a truism that India should engage Japan much more than it has done so far, and it should not be confined to economic and technological cooperation. Japan still remains the first Asian nation which has outclassed rich and developed Western countries and it has many lessons to offer. Unfortunately, Japan is largely an unknown Asian power for many in India. This should be rectified.