Japan-India Relations

February 2012

History

Exchange between Japan and India is said to have begun in the 6th century when Buddhism was introduced to Japan. Indian culture, filtered through Buddhism, has had a great impact on Japanese culture, and this is the source of the Japanese people's sense of closeness to India.

After World War II, in 1949, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru donated two Indian elephants to the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo. This brought a ray of light into the lives of the Japanese people who still had not recovered from defeat in the war. Japan and India signed a peace treaty and established diplomatic relations on 28th April, 1952. This treaty was one of the first peace treaties Japan signed after the World War II.

Ever since the establishment of diplomatic relations, the two countries have enjoyed cordial relations. In the post World War II period, India's iron ore helped a great deal Japan's recovery from the devastation. Following Japanese Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi's visit to India in 1957, Japan started providing yen loans to India in 1958, as the first yen loan aid extended by Japanese government. Since 1986, Japan has become India's largest aid donor, and remains so.

Recent Relations

Prime Minister Mori's visit to India in August 2000 provided the momentum to strengthen the Japan-India relationship. Since then, annual meetings between prime ministers, including Prime Minister Koizumi's visit to India in April 2005, Prime Minister Singh's visit to Japan in December 2006, Prime Minister Abe's visit to India in August 2007, and Prime Minister Singh's visit to Japan in October 2008, have led to the establishment of the "Strategic and Global Partnership between Japan and India" as well as the further strengthening of the bilateral relationship. Most recently, during Prime Minister Hatoyama's visit to India in December 2009, Japan and India singed the Joint Statement "New Stage of Japan-India Strategic and Global Partnership".

Main Elements of the Joint Statement "New Stage of Japan-India Strategic and Global Partnership"

Bilateral Cooperation: Finalization of the Action Plan to advance security cooperation, including the establishment of Subcabinet/Senior Official 2 + 2 dialogue, Acceleration of EPA/CEPA negotiations, Early realization of DFC project, Joint establishment of PDF for DMIC project, Collaboration in IIT Hyderabad, etc.
Cooperation on Regional and Global issues: Disarmament and Non-proliferation, Climate Change, UN Reform, WTO, Counter-Terrorism, etc.

Cooperation in Security Fields

Both countries have been conducting annual Foreign 0ffice Consultations at the Foreign Secretary level. The Security Dialogue between the two countries was set up in 2001 and six rounds of dialogue have been conducted since then. During the Indian Prime Minister's visit to Japan in 2008, "the Joint Statement on security cooperation between Japan and India" was issued. Furthermore, Action Plan to advance Security Cooperation based on the Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation between Japan and India was issued during the Japanese Prime Minister's visit to India in 2009. The Japan-India 2 + 2 Dialogue, which is the framework established based on the agreement by the Prime Ministers of both countries at the Annual Summit in December 2009, was held in New Delhi in July 2010.

High level exchange is continuing between the defense authorities. From Japan, General Masaki, Chief of Staff (September, 2005), Admiral Saito, Chief of Maritime SDF (February, 2006), General Mori, Chief of Ground SDF (March, 2006), and General Yoshida, Chief of Air SDF (April, 2006) visited India. From India, Admiral Prakash, Chief of Naval Staff, visited Japan in October, 2005. Defense Minister of India, Mr. Antony, visited Japan in November, 2009, and Joint Press Statement was issued to promote defense exchanges and cooperation. In April, 2009, Maritime SDF joined in the "Malabar 09" which was co-hosted by U.S. and India. Furthermore, four Indian navy vessels visited the port of Sasebo and the Maritime SDF's training squadrons visited the port of Goa in May 2009.

Between the coast guards, combined exercises on anti-piracy, search & rescue etc. have been conducted since 2000. The both coast guards conducted 8th joint exercise when the Indian coast guard "Sagar" visited Nagoya in May 2007. Heads of coast guards of both countries visit each other almost every year. The two coast guards exchanged a Memorandum on Cooperation at the occasion of commandant Ishikawa's visit to India in November, 2006.

Economic Relations

Bilateral trade is expanding in the recent years. However, the speed and scope of expansion are still limited. Joint Study Group (JSG), composed of government officials and representatives of business and academia from the two countries, held four meetings after July, 2005. JSG submitted its report to both Prime Ministers when they met in July, 2006, which includes a recommendation for launching EPA negotiations. In December, 2006, the Prime Ministers of the two countries decided to launch immediate negotiations for the conclusion of a bilateral Economic Partnership Agreement/Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement aiming to complete in substance as soon as possible in approximately two years. Thirteen rounds of negotiations were held in New Delhi and Tokyo respectively as of July 2010. Japan-India Strategic Dialogue on Economic Issues which reviews the current status of bilateral economic issues discussed at Summit meetings, and undertakes coordination as necessary was held 3 times in New Delhi and Tokyo respectively as of July 2010 since the Dialogue was launched in July 2007. In August 2007, the Business Leaders' Forum was held in New Delhi on the occasion of Prime Minister Abe's visit to India, and the Second meeting was held in Tokyo in October 2008.

Japan-India Trade (US$: billion)

Year	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
Trade from India to Japan	2.2	2.1	2.2	2.6	3.2	4.1	4.1	7.9
Trade from Japan to India	1.9	1.9	2.4	3.0	3.5	4.5	6.1	5.2

(source: Japanese government documents)

Japanese private-sector's interest in India is rising, and, currently, about 627 Japanese companies have branches in India. (The figure doubled over the last 3 years.)

Direct Investment from Japan (Yen: billion)

Year	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
Direct Investment from Japan	18.4	18.7	14.6	15.0	29.8	59.7	178.2	542.9

(source: Japanese government documents)

Economic Assistance

Loan: 236.04 billion yen (FY 2008)
Grants: 4.28 billion yen (FY 2008)
Technical Cooperation: 11.79 billion yen (FY 2008)

Cultural Relations

Both governments held "Japan-India Exchange Year 2007" both in Japan and in India to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Cultural Agreement.

Number of Residents

Number of Japanese nationals residing in India: 3,284 (as of October, 2008)
Number of Indian nationals residing in Japan: 22,335 (as of December, 2008)

Bilateral Treaties and Agreements

Treaty of Peace (1952)
Agreement for Air Service (1956)
Cultural Agreement (1957)
Agreement of Commerce (1958)
Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation (1960)
Agreement on Cooperation in the field of Science and Technology (1985)

VIP Visits

From Japan to India

Year	Name
1980	Mr. Ito, Minister for Foreign Affairs
1982	Mr. Sakurauchi, Minister for Foreign Affairs
1984	Mr. Nakasone, Prime Minister
1984	Mr. Abe, Minister for Foreign Affairs
1987	Mr. Kuranari, Foreign Minister
1990	Mr. Kaifu, Prime Minister
1990	Mr. Hashimoto, Minister for Finance
1995	Mr. Hashimoto, Minister for International Trade and Industry
1997	Mr. Ikeda, Minister for Foreign Affairs
2000	Mr. Fukaya, Minister for International Trade and Industry
2000	Mr. Mori, Prime Minister
2003	Ms. Kawaguchi, Minister for Foreign Affairs
2003	Mr. Ishiba, Minister of State for Defense
2004	Ms. Kawaguchi, Minister for Foreign Affairs
2004	Mr. Nakagawa, Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry
2004	Mr. Motegi, Minister of State for Information and Technology
2005	Mr. Tanigaki, Minister for Finance
2005	Mr. Takenaka, Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy
2005	Mr. Nakagawa, Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry
2005	Mr. Koizumi, Prime Minister
2005	Mr. Aso, Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications
2006	Mr. Aso, Minister for Foreign Affairs
2006	Mr. Tanigaki, Minister for Finance
2006	Mr. Kitagawa, Minister for Land, Infrastructure and Transport
2007	Mr. Suga, Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications
2007	Mr. Aso, Minister for Foreign Affairs
2007	Mr. Amari, Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry
2007	Mr. Matsuoka, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
2007	Mr. Fuyushiba, Minister for Land, Infrastructure and Transport
2007	Mr. Amari, Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry
2007	Mr. Abe, Prime Minister
2007	Ms. Koike, Minister of Defense
2008	Mr. Nukaga, Minister of Finance
2008	Mr. Koumura, Minister for Foreign Affairs
2009	Mr. Ozawa, Minister of the Environment
2009	Mr. Hatoyama, Prime Minister
2010	Mr. Haraguchi, Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications
2010	Mr. Suzuki, Commandant of Coast Guard
2010	Mr. Naoshima, Minister of Trade and Industry
2010	Mr. Kitazawa, Minister of Defense

From India to Japan

Year	Name
1982	Ms. Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister
1982	Mr. Rao, Minister for External Affairs
1985	Mr. Rajiv Gandhi, Prime Minister
1986	Mr. Tiwali, Minister for External Affairs
1987	Mr. Rajiv Gandhi, Prime Minister
1987	Mr. Tiwali, Minister for External Affairs
1988	Mr. Rajiv Gandhi, Prime Minister
1988	Mr. Rao, Minister for Industry
1989	Mr. Venkataraman, President
1989	Mr. Rao, Minister for External Affairs
1990	Mr. Venkataraman, President
1990	Mr. Ajit Singh, Minister for Industry
1990	Mr. Nehru, Minister for Commerce and Tourism
1991	Mr. Sinha, Minister for Finance
1992	Mr. Rao, Prime Minister
1992	Dr. Manmohan Singh, Finance Minister
1993	Dr. Manmohan Singh, Finance Minister
1995	Mr. Mukherjee, Minister for External Affairs
1996	Mr. Chidambaram, Minister for Finance
1998	Mr. Bakht, Minister for Industry
1999	Mr. Jaswant Singh, Minister for External Affairs
2000	Mr. Fernandes, Minister for Defense
2001	Mr. Mahajan, Minister for Information Technology
2001	Mr. Vajpayee, Prime Minister
2002	Mr. Fernandes, Minister for Defense
2003	Mr. Ajit Singh, Minister for Agriculture
2005	Mr. Maran, Minister for Communication and Information Technology
2005	Mr. Nath, Minister for Commerce and Industry
2005	Mr. Aiyar, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas
2006	Mr. Chidambara, Minister for Finance
2006	Mr. Mukherjee, Minister for Defense
2006	Mr. Nath, Minister for Commerce and Industry
2006	Mr. Shinde, Minister for Power
2006	Mr. Raja, Minister for Environment and Forests
2006	Mr. Sibal, Minister for Science & Technology; Ocean Development
2006	Mr. Narayanan, National Security Adviser
2006	Mr. Nath, Minister for Commerce and Industry
2006	Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister
2007	Mr. Mukherjee, Minister for External Affairs
2007	Mr. Nath, Minister for Commerce and Industry
2007	Mr. Kumar, Minister of State for Industry
2007	Mr. Soni, Minister of Tourism and Culture
2007	Mr. Reddy, Minister of Urban Development
2008	Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister
2008	Mr. Nath, Minister for Commerce and Industry
2009	Mr. Chidambaram, Principal Scientific Advisor
2009	Mr. Prasad, Minister of Railways
2009	Mr. Krishna, Minister for External Affairs
2009	Mr. Maran, Minister for Textile
2009	Mr. Narayanan, National Security Adviser
2009	Mr. Antony, Minister for Defense
2010	Mr. Nath, Minister of Road Transport & Highways