Why in News?

• Speaking at an event recently, India’s External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar said that India and Japan would rather work to strengthen their “peacetime cooperation”.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• India-Japan Relationship (History, Current times, Economic, Defense, Cultural, etc.)
• News Summary

About India-Japan Relationship:

• History –
  • Japan and India signed a peace treaty and established diplomatic relations in April, 1952.
  • This treaty was one of the first peace treaties Japan signed after World War II.
• Recent engagements –
  • PM Yoshiro Mori’s visit to India in August 2000 provided the momentum to strengthen the Japan-India relationship.
  • Mori and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee decided the establishment of "Global Partnership between Japan and India".
  • When Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Japan in December 2006, Japan-India relationship was elevated to the "Global and Strategic Partnership".
  • In September 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid an official visit to Japan and had a summit meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
  • They concurred to upgrade the bilateral relationship to “Special Strategic and Global Partnership”.
• Cooperation in Security Fields –
  • During Prime Minister Singh’s visit to Japan in October 2008, two leaders issued " Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation between Japan and India".
  • There are also various frameworks of security and defense dialogue between Japan and India including –
    • Foreign and Defense Ministerial Meeting (“2+2” meeting),
    • Annual Defense Ministerial Dialogue and
    • Coast Guard-to-Coast Guard dialogue
  • In 2020, both signed the Agreement Concerning Reciprocal Provision of Supplies and Services between the Self-Defense Forces of Japan and the Indian Armed Forces (so-called ACSA).
• Economic Relations –
  • India was the 18th largest trading partner for Japan, and Japan was the 13th largest trading partner for India in 2021.
  • Japan was the 5th largest investor for India in FY2021.
  • Japan's bilateral trade with India, totalled US$ 17.63 billion in FY 2018-19.
• Economic Assistance –
  • India has been the largest recipient of Japanese ODA Loan for the past decades.
  • Delhi Metro is one of the most successful examples of Japanese cooperation through the utilization of ODA.
  • Besides, Japan and India had committed to build High-Speed Railway in India.
  • Japan continues to cooperate in supporting strategic connectivity linking India to Southeast Asia through the synergy between ''Act East'' policy and ''Partnership for Quality Infrastructure''.
• Indian Diaspora in Japan: More than 40,000 Indians are residing in Japan.

News Summary:

• In his address to the two-day India-Japan Forum organised by the Ananta Centre and the Ministry of External Affairs, Mr. Jaishankar praised Japan for being an “exemplar moderniser” that is a role model for India.
• He also credited Japan with several industrial “revolutions” in India including the introduction of the Maruti-Suzuki collaboration for a passenger car, Metro rail services in various Indian cities, etc.
• He added the both countries are already doing some cooperation in the security sphere, referring to India-Japan military and maritime exercises that included the first-ever joint fighter exercise in January this year.
• He was asked about what kind of “wartime cooperation” could be expected from India to Japan in case of a war in the Taiwan straits.
• He said that by strengthening “peace, stability and security” in the region, India and Japan could ensure that “many of the worst fears” would not be realised.