Monday 23 June 2014

Indo-Japanese Relationship.

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi penned down a diplomatic letter for his Japanese counterpart, chills were noticeable in the whole of the Asian Continent as now India and Japan are going to enter into a new era of constructive cooperation and progress.

From a very long time, speculations were there that if Narendra Modi is elected as the 15th Prime Minister of India, then the strong man would not leave any stone unturned in striking chords with his international counterparts to ensure an increment in the diplomatic capabilities of the nation internationally and also to ensure harmonious and smooth relations with global heavyweights. And now sans any ado Mr. Modi has started carving out his path to fulfil his goal of tranquil relations with other countries and strategically Japan could be his most favoured destination, as a nation which can help the Indian subcontinent enhance its horizons.

Japan has been a reliable partner of the nation since time immemorial. Japan has been a remarkable and unparalleled ally of India. Japan and India have been assisting each other in all the spheres of work, whether its tourism, educational and skill development, technology, environmental cause. History has made both the nations link up through the religion of culture. Japan and India have been historically connected due to Buddhism which pervaded in Japan through India only. Since then both the nations have helped each other. During the British rule too, Japan didn’t shown any reluctance in lending India a helping by sending its Japanese Imperial Force to resist the British Army along with the Indian national Army under the guidance of Subhash Chandra Bose. After that this relationship soared to new heights and now Japan and India have been collaborating politically, economically and strategically and with this India gets the lion’s share of Japan’s official development assistance (ODA).

Japan could be the first strategic destination for the Indian Prime Minister. Japan is a highly developed nation with huge infrastructure and technology. From the very commencement of the epoch of India’s independence, Japan has been investing hugely in the infrastructural and technological projects of Indian subcontinent. Indian capital’s pride Delhi Metro is also there because of heavy assistance that India got from Japan. With this many Japanese companies like Honda, Suzuki, Sony, Mitsubishi etc. Japan also wields a robust and positive influence in the Indian market. Tenjiku (Japanese name for India meaning Heavenly Abode) can therefore trust this partner.

Narendra Modi can himself take up huge support from the Japanese side and a thing to note here is that Modi has known the current Prime minister of Japan Shinzo Abe from the year 2007 when Mr. Modi flew down to Delhi in order to meet the Japanese Prime Minister during his visit to India 7 years ago. Mr. Modi can thus help the nation move forward with the help of Japan.

Narendra Modi, during his election campaign stated that he is willing to make India a technological hub, with high-tech cities and with special amenities being given to the denizens of the nation. If Mr. Modi seriously keeps his words then none other than Japan can help him fulfil his promises.

Japan has been a great technological hub from a very long time. It made many appreciable advances in the field of technology back in the 20th century and since then it has never looked back. With globally reputed companies like Sony, Suzuki, Honda, it has established itself as a technological hub. Mr. Modi can therefore consider Japan in his vision to turn India into a nation with best technology and features. Japan can also help India pretty much in coming into the limelight. Some previous ventures with Japan like Maruti-Suzuki and Hero-Honda have also paid off very well. Indian government’s plan to bring about roll out bullet train in the country can also be made to become a reality if it is able to extract utmost help from India’s one of the best friends.

Japan has been from the very beginning helping the government of India with huge funding allocations. Japanese companies have made a huge investment of around $2.6 billion in India. In 2008 both the countries signed an agreement that Japan would accommodate India with a loan of $4.5 billion in order to erect a railway project between Mumbai and Delhi. Many other projects in India are being constructed with the financial help from Japan. Projects like Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor, Chennai-Bangalore Industrial corridor are also under consideration with the Japanese government. India also has been helping Japan too much under this issue. India has equipped Japan with a huge workforce to help Japan conduct many operations in its own country. In 2009, a director of Softbridge Solutions, Japan noted that it would be very difficult to run the Japanese IT industry without Indian engineers. A remarkable thing to note here is the exports to Japan from India has also increased by leaps and bound. In 2001 India exported Japan products with market value of 2.2 billion USD and in the phase 2012-13 the exports grew from $2.2 billion to a whopping $6.10 billion. Both the countries therefore have great potential in this field and can assist each other in a mutually beneficial way to engender a great partnership that could be a paradigm for the whole world.

One more sphere where both the nations are working with each other is military ties. Both the nations have vested interest in the waters of Indian Ocean and therefore continue to have close military ties. The two nations have conducted many naval exercises with each other and even Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said that India can help Japan hugely in tackling its territorial disputes. India can also get a lot of health from Japan in this respect. Japan can be a very big market for the Indian defence equipment agencies from which they can buy upgraded defence armaments and other weapons in order to revamp its defence system. Therefore both the nations can also cover a long journey holding each other’s hand in the direction of progress.

Japan and India have been linked up by destiny through culture and now technologically, economically and in many other fields. Both the nation can help each other in a humongous way exploiting each other’s advantages to the hilt in order to ensure a better future for both the countries.  

And as Shinchi Suzuki, the great musician from Japan, has quoted, “When love is deep, everything can be accomplished.”
Jai Hind, Jai Bharat

Jai Ma Bharti

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