A new 'heart' of the Asian
order By Suvendrini Kakuchi
TOKYO - Fledgling relations between Japan,
Asia's powerhouse, and India, a major player in
the region, are reckoned to have received a boost
after Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wound
up a four-day visit to Japan this weekend.
Tokyo rolled out a red-carpet welcome for
Manmohan, whose country is increasingly viewed as
a strategic bilateral partner by the government of
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is
spearheading a more active
role for Japan in shaping Asian regional politics.
"In India, Japan finds a partner that is
both influential in the establishment of a
regional order for East Asia and that shares
common values such as freedom and democracy,"
opined the Yomiuri newspaper, Japan's largest
daily, on Thursday. The newspaper called for
increasing Japanese economic support for India and
described the new partnership as "the heart of the
Asian order".
Sankei, a leading
conservative newspaper, also praised the visit,
calling it a landmark for Japan.
The media
referred to Abe's book, A Beautiful
Country, which outlined an Asian order
grouping Japan with India, Australia and the
United States, but not China, to work toward
security and prosperity in the region. Manmohan's
visit is being seen as the first step in this
direction.
In the book, Abe points out
that India is very important for Japan's national
interests. In Tokyo, both leaders pledged to hold
talks on this framework, which Abe hopes to
establish soon.
"There is now a new
perspective on India in Japan. Influential
politicians and policymakers are urging Japan to
rethink the old stance and develop closer ties
that could include accepting India as a nuclear
power," said Professor Masao Fukunaga, an India
watcher at the Gifu Women's University based in
Nagoya.
Indian experts in Tokyo are
reciprocating with equal warmth. Ramesh Thakur,
senior vice rector of the United Nations
University in Tokyo, in a lengthy article ahead of
the visit, glowed over the prospect of warming
relations between the two countries - not only on
the economic front but also on the political and
military.
Compared with the West, Japan
may be a latecomer in recognizing the potential of
India for its vast domestic market, skilled
low-cost labor and military strength, but this,
Thakur writes, is no reason for further delay.
"Japan's interests and capabilities are so
different from India's that the two have never
vied for competitive influence in Asia. India can
be a useful conduit for Japan to outflank
uncomfortable historical memories there,"
concludes Thakur in the article that appeared in
the Yomiuri on December 12.
Thakur was
referring to Japan's close but difficult ties with
China, hot on economic relations but cool on
diplomacy, which are overshadowed by Japan's
colonization of the neighboring country in the
mid-20th century.
Experts contend that
Japan-India ties have come a long way from when
Tokyo imposed economic sanctions on New Delhi
after India's nuclear tests in 1998.
Indeed, Japan's weak relations with India,
which currently records an 8% annual growth rate
in gross domestic product, have become a hot
national debate as New Delhi forges ahead with new
pacts with the United States and China.
The fact that Sino-Indian trade is soaring
- two-way trade reached US$17 billion in 2005, or
three times that with Japan - has been noted, and
also how during a visit to India last month by
Chinese President Hu Jintao, both sides set a
target to double their bilateral trade by 2010.
On the other hand, India and China failed
to agree on a free-trade pact, whereas Manmohan's
visit has already seen movement in the direction
of a free-trade agreement to be signed in the next
two years.
An important landmark is the
controversial nuclear-cooperation agreement India
signed with the US a year ago and which was passed
by the US Congress last week, clearing the way for
providing sophisticated nuclear materials and
technology to support growing fuel needs and also
indirectly recognizing India as a nuclear-weapons
power.
The agreement, criticized by
anti-nuclear groups, has proved to be a headache
for Japan, which is a leader in the nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty, to which India is not a
signatory. Japan is yet to make known its official
position on the Indo-US deal.
"Blessings
from Japan for the US-India deal [are] of crucial
importance for Delhi. I do hope Singh's visit will
not lead to Tokyo changing its mind. If this is
where the visit is leading to, we will be
disappointed," said Hideyuki Ban, an anti-nuclear
activist with the respected Citizens Nuclear
Information Center, a non-governmental
organization.
Analysts, however, predict
that Tokyo will end its opposition. Fukunaga
points to the recent debate launched by
politicians in the Abe cabinet to review Japan's
own anti-nuclear policy against North Korea's
nuclear-weapons development program, signaling a
major shift.
Hisao Iwashima, a security
expert, warned that Abe's thrust to work more
closely with India could fall into narrow
political interests - using India as a
counterweight to China as Japan embarks on more
involvement in Asia.
"Abe's strategy is to
bolster his falling public support by harping on
nationalism, and his friendship with India can be
to win the backing of conservatives in Japan who
dislike China for bringing up past historical
animosity," he said.
