India-Japan: poised for a great leap forward

POISED FOR PARTNERSHIP
Deeping India-Japan Relations in the Asian Century
Rohan Mukherjee and Anthony Yazaki (eds)
Oxford University Press
307 pages; Rs 895

A one-line summary of Indo-Japanese relations could read thus: "not living up to potential". Though the two countries have little or no political or historical baggage, India lags China and Association of Southeast Nations (Asean) countries on multiple parameters of trade, investment and co-operation with Japan.

The Indo-Japanese relationship has followed a sinusoidal pattern since the 1950s. It saw its crests right after India's independence and after the Cold War. It witnessed its troughs during the Cold War and after India's nuclear tests in 1998. That said, post 2005, the relationship is on an upward trajectory and all signs are indicating towards a sustained peak.

Poised for Partnership, edited by the Rohan Mukherjee, Stanton Nuclear Fellow at MIT, and Anthony Yazaki, member of United Nations University's Center for Policy Research, is a scholarly work that explores an area of international relations that is under-researched. As identified by the editors in the introduction to this volume, despite a congruence of interests and identities, India and Japan's mutual appreciation has been largely confined to the societal and cultural domain and not expanded fully into the sphere of economics and security.

The work sets out with two broad goals: one, to bring together scholars and experts in specific areas and examine bilateral relationship from a perspective that mirrors sectorally specialised knowledge that is much needed in both countries; and, two, to write about the pitfalls and obstacles and the potential for cooperation. The book succeeds on both counts.

The book is divided into four parts covering Economic Cooperation, Energy & Climate Change, Security & Defence and Global Governance. Every section contains chapters from an Indian perspective and another from the Japanese perspective. The introduction and the conclusion, however, are co-authored by the editors.

The introduction provides a historical overview of the relationship and acts as a primer for anyone who is interested in understanding the dynamics between India and Japan. The complementarities in various areas is a theme that is explored throughout the book and particularly so in the sections devoted to Economic Cooperation and Security & Defence.

The section on Economic Cooperation starts with a chapter dealing with Japan's economic recovery and growing economic relations with India. Authors Shujiro Urata and Mitsuyo Ando's analysis concludes that India and Japan can derive immense benefits by increasing their economic relationship especially in areas like foreign direct investment, foreign trade and so on. The authors conclude with a comprehensive set of recommendations to derive more out of this complementary bilateral relationship. The Indian perspective is provided by Devesh Kapur and Rohit Lamba, who explore the principal economic dimensions between India and Japan, analyse the areas with the greatest economic potential and examine how Indian infrastructural woes can be addressed by Japanese investment.

The section on Security & Defence focusses on security cooperation and strategic partnership between the two nations. While the chapter on cooperation provides valid policy recommendations like suggesting India scale back its conventional defence spending, one gets a feeling that the authors veer towards radiophobia (opposition to the use of nuclear technology) particularly when they say "Japan must continuously emphasise the importance of a nuclear-free world". Although there is historical basis from a Japanese point of view to such a statement, it does not have much credence from a realist standpoint.

The Indian perspective, provided by C Raja Mohan and Rishika Chauhan, discusses expanding the defence engagement, outer space and cyber security, the rise of China and how it has both encouraged and discouraged stronger Indo-Japanese partnership. However, the concluding section that analyses the constraints on rapid advances in bilateral ties and provides suggestions to overcome these constraints is noteworthy. A commentary on India's complex offset policies and procurement procedures would have strengthened these two chapters.

Two other objectives, as spelled out in the introduction, deserve mention. First, each chapter is co-authored by one established and one emerging scholar from respective countries. This is done with the intention of combining expertise with fresh insights. Second, the authors are invited to think for the long term so that the volume can have a longer shelf life. The book largely succeeds on the first count, but only time will tell us about the second.

The fact that a volume like this is published in 2016 re-affirms that India-Japan relationship is indeed poised for partnership. However, the price (at an exorbitant Rs 895) probably limits the number of individuals who can understand this burgeoning relationship better. This scholarly work deserves to be read by a wider audience.

The reviewer is a policy analyst at The Takshashila Institution, a Bengaluru-based think tank and a school of public policy.

Twitter: @quale