Today'sPaperOPINION

BringingTokyoclosertoNewDelhi
RohanMukherjee
ThepossibilitiesforcooperationbetweenIndiaandJapanareboundless,butdespiteloftyrhetoricandpastcommitments,bilateral
relationshaveremainedunderdeveloped

MOVINGBEYONDgoodwill:Manyinitiativestomovethebilateralrelationshipforwardareonthedocket,buttheirimplementationwillrequire
moreeffort.PictureshowsPrimeMinistersNarendraModiandShinzoAbeatateaceremonyinTokyoinSeptember.Photo:AFP

WhenRabindranathTagorevisitedJapanin1916,heconcludedthatthewelcomewhichflowedtowardsme,withsuch
outburstofsincerity,wasowingtothefactthatJapanfeltthenearnessofIndiatoherself.Almosta100yearslater,
NarendraModiechoedthissentimentduringhisfirstofficialvisitasPrimeMinistertoTokyoinSeptember2014:I
amtouchedbythewarmthandenthusiasmthatIhaveexperiencedinmeetingawidecrosssectionofpeoplehere,
hesaid.Iamexcitedabouttheboundlesspossibilitiesforourcooperation.
Astwooftheworldslargesteconomiesanddemocracieswithcommonandcomplementaryinterestsandnohistorical
disputes,thepossibilitiesforcooperationbetweenIndiaandJapanareindeedboundless.Yet,despiteloftyrhetoric
andpastcommitmentsinthisvein,bilateralrelationshaveremainedunderdeveloped.Giventhegrowingpolitical
momentumintherelationship,thanksinparttothepersonalfriendshipbetweenPrimeMinistersModiandShinzo
Abe,thetimeisripeforconvertingwordsintoactionandchartingasubstantiveagendaforprogressonavarietyof
frontsincludingeconomics,security,energyandclimatechange,andglobalgovernance.
Theopportunitiesareclear,butbearrepeating.Ontheeconomicfront,Japanboastsacapitalricheconomywithan
ageingpopulationthatislikelytoprolonganalreadydecadeslongeconomicmalaise.Meanwhile,Indiaseconomy
remainsinneedofforeigninvestmentwhileitspopulationislikelytohaveaglutofworkingageyouthinthecoming
years.AlthoughJapanhaspledgedtoinvest$35billioninIndiaoverthenextfiveyears,andisthelargestproviderof
officialdevelopmentassistancetoIndia,thereisstillspacetoexpandtheeconomicrelationship.
Securityfront
Onthesecurityfront,bothcountriesfacethechallengeofmaintaining(orinthecaseofJapan,reestablishing)positive
relationswithChinawhilealsohavingtohedgeagainstitsgrowingassertiveness,particularlyonterritorialmatters.To
thisend,JapanandIndiahaveheldnavalexercisesintheIndianOceantoenhancetheirmaritimeinteroperability,and
bothcountriesmaintainastrategicdialogueonexistingandemergingchallengesintheAsiaPacific.Eventhoughthe
IndiaJapanstrategicrelationshipwasfirstcalledaGlobalPartnershipin2000beforeitwasupgradedtoaStrategic
andGlobalPartnershipin2006andfinallyaSpecialStrategicandGlobalPartnershipin2014,therelationshiphas
remainedmoresymbolicthansubstantive.
Energysecurityisanotherareaofcommoninterest.Japansrelianceonenergyimportshasincreasedsharplysincethe
2011FukushimaDaiichiincidentdomesticallygeneratednuclearpowerhasgonefromproviding26percentof
Japansenergyneedstozeroasallnuclearplantsremainclosed.JapanalsohasmuchtosharewithIndiaintermsof
cleanenergytechnologiesandgloballyrecognisedbenchmarksonenergyefficiencystandards.Onissuesofglobal
governance,JapanandIndiabothdesirethereformofinternationalinstitutions,particularlytheUnitedNations
SecurityCouncil(UNSC),whichiscurrentlydominatedbyitspermanentmembers.Intheareaofinternational
development,asIndiatransitionsfrombeinganetrecipientofforeignaidtoanetprovider,therearesignificant
opportunitiestolearnfromJapansdecadeslongexperienceofdeliveringeconomicassistanceinAsiaandAfrica.
ComparedtotheopportunitiesinherentincontemporaryIndiaJapanrelations,thechallengestodeeperbilateral
cooperationarelesstalkedabout.Itisworthexaminingwhy,forexample,despitestrongeconomiccomplementarities,
tradebetweenthetwocountrieshasremainedunderwhelming(IndiasshareofJapanstradelagsfarbehindmuchof
Asia),orwhysecuritycooperationhasnotextendedbeyondnavalexercisesdespitegrowingconcernsaboutChinas
assertiveness.Similarly,despiteintensivelobbyingbybothcountriesseparatelyandaspartoftheG4groupinthe
UnitedNations,UNSCreformremainsaselusiveasithaseverbeen.

Overcomingobstacles
TheIndiaJapanrelationshipdoesnotsufferfromawantofimagination.Rather,theobstaclesonbothsidescanbe
groupedintothreerelativelymundanecategories:bureaucratic,cultural,andstrategic.Bureaucraticcomplexityisthe
mostcommonlycitedproblem,notjustbyTokyobutalsobyDelhi.Despitestrongpoliticalwillonbothsides,theslow
movingmachineriesofthetwostateshaveyettobecomeintimatelyacquainted.Forexample,Japaneseeconomic
officials,whoarekeentobeginaprogrammeoftransferringcleantechnologiestoIndiainexchangeforcarboncredits,
remainunsureofwhichIndianagencybetweentheministriesofexternalaffairs,environment,coal,andrenewable
energymighthavethemostauthorityonthisfile.
Culturalfactorscoupledwithpoorcommunicationhavealsobeenamajorimpediment.Indiaseffortsatsecuringthe
supplyofJapansworldclassUS2amphibiousaircraftandatconcludingaciviliannucleardeal,similartothosewith
theUnitedStatesandRussia,haveyieldedlimitedresultsduetoJapansuniquelegalandnormativeapproachesto
militarismandtheuseofforcesinceWorldWarII.Similarly,Japanesecompaniesstruggletodecipherandnavigate
Indiasbusinesscultureandregulatoryenvironment,askillthattheirKoreancounterpartshavemasteredoverthelast
twodecades.Finally,morecommonplacereasonsofstrategyalsokeepIndiaandJapanfromdeepercooperation.Both
countrieshaveaninterestincounteringChinasrisewithoutprovokingconflictoranyformofescalation.
Consequently,neitheriswillingtocommittothetypesofsecuritycooperationthatonemightfindinotherstrategic
relationshipsliketheU.S.Japanalliance.Foritspart,BeijingkeepsacloseeyeonevolvingIndiaJapantiesandaims
inthelongtermtopreventanexcessivelywarmembracebetweentwoofitsrivals.
Takingallofthesefactorsintoconsideration,inordertoconverttheirstatementsanddeclarationsintoaction,India
andJapanneedtoreorientandstreamlinetheirbureaucraticengagements(thenewJapancellintheIndianPrime
Ministersofficeisawelcomestep),developcreativesecondbeststrategiesthataccountforculturaldifferencesand
blindspots,anddevisewaysinwhichtheymightgrowtherelationshipwhilemaintainingsteadyengagementwith
Beijing.Numerousinitiativestomovethebilateralrelationshipforwardareonthedocket,buttheirimplementation
willrequirerealeffortandwilldependonmorethanthegoodwillbetweenthetwoPrimeMinisters.
(RohanMukherjeeisadoctoralcandidateintheDepartmentofPoliticsatPrincetonUniversityandAnthonyYazaki
isaResearchFellowattheUnitedNationsUniversityinTokyo.)
TheobstaclesbetweenIndiaandJapancanbegroupedintothreerelativelymundanecategories:
bureaucratic,culturalandstrategic