Warming to Tokyo

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Japan seems to have given a new impetus to bilateral ties. Although there has been talk in Tokyo of a coming together of the two countries in the context of the rise of China, Dr Singh did well to focus on bilateral economic ties. The Japanese economy has been emerging from a decade-long slump, there is renewed interest among Japanese companies and investors in overseas markets, and the India story has therefore attracted attention at the right time. Also, with a new, purpose-driven Prime Minister in place in Tokyo, a summit meeting at this time was a good idea.

Japanese fund managers have taken a new interest in the Indian stock market in the past few months, and Japanese funding of key infrastructure projects like the new railway freight corridors will be a significant milestone. If Japanese firms get industry enclaves along some part of the corridor, so that the transport linkages are attractive, it will also facilitate significant Japanese investment in Indian industry. On top of this, the commerce minister has said that Japanese institutional investors may be willing to pump in as much as $10 billion in the coming year.

All these indicators point to a revival of bilateral trade as well""which, as Dr Singh pointed out, has been languishing. While India's trade with other Asian countries like South Korea and China has been growing rapidly, it is good to remember that Japan remains the largest economy in the region, and stagnant trade with Japan is therefore an admission that opportunities are being missed.

A visit to Tokyo at this time was also a good idea because of the nuclear issue. Japan has been in the forefront of the global anti-nuclear movement, because of its experiences as a victim of nuclear attack, and it was one of the harshest critics of India's nuclear blasts in 1998. The Japanese have been forced more recently to re-examine their own positions, after North Korea also tested its bombs, and a Japanese strategic nuclear programme cannot any more be ruled out. If that helps soften Japan's position to India's nuclear ambitions, and helps win support for the civilian nuclear deal with Washington, it would be another important gain notched up.

Then there is the regional agenda. India has so far been excluded from councils like Asean and Apec, and has also been excluded from the confabulations in the Asean+3 framework""largely because of Chinese opposition to its inclusion. Japan has an unfortunate history of aggression against many East Asian nations, and this legacy has not been buried. That limits the initiative that it can take in the region. But as a longstanding ally of the United States, it would react positively to the warming of Indo-US ties and this can only help give India more diplomatic elbow room. Apart from this, the two countries have a common interest in reforming the structure of the United Nations and seeking permanent seats in the Security Council. Some coordination on that issue would not be a bad idea.