Japan Brief/FPCJ, No. 0981
January 7, 2010


Prime Minister Hatoyama’s Visit to India
and the Japan-India Bilateral Summit

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama visited India from December 27, 2009, and held talks with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on December 29. The two leaders formulated an Action Plan aimed at strengthening ties in the security field, including the holding of an annual subcabinet/senior officials 2+2 dialogue involving the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Defense of Japan and the Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Defense of India. They also signed a Joint Statement proclaiming the promotion of comprehensive cooperation on such issues as economic relations, the environment, and the abolition of nuclear weapons.

In a joint press conference Prime Minister Hatoyama emphasized “the great significance of the development of Japan-India relations” (Asahi Shimbun, December 30) and said that “the strategic and global partnership between Japan and India has reached a new stage” (Mainichi Shimbun, December 30). Regarding the concept of an East Asian Community, which Prime Minister Hatoyama himself is advocating, he positioned India as a country that has a “major and indispensable role” to play (Mainichi, same day).

Prime Minister’s Visit Shows Stance of Emphasizing India

The budget draft for the next fiscal year (starting April 1), which is the most important issue in Japanese politics, is decided at the end of every calendar year, so it is extremely unusual for the prime minister to make an overseas trip at such a busy time. As the background to Prime Minister Hatoyama’s hasty visit to India, the Japanese media were almost unanimous in pointing out the prime minister’s desire to promote cooperation with India, which is achieving tremendous economic growth and boosting its political influence.

Regarding cooperation in the security field, which was the main issue in the talks between the two leaders, in October 2008 then Prime Minister Taro Aso and Indian Prime Minister Singh signed the Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation between Japan and India. The annual subcabinet/senior officials 2 + 2 dialogue is one concrete result of this declaration. In addition, the Action Plan, among other things, stipulated strengthened cooperation in defense of the sea lanes linking the Middle East, a major energy source, with East Asia, and in piracy countermeasures off the coast of Somalia in Africa (Yomiuri Shimbun, December 30).

In addition to security, the Joint Statement also mentioned the following points (also the Yomiuri):
—The two leaders called for the acceleration of negotiations toward the early conclusion of an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).
—They expressed satisfaction with the establishment of a joint fund toward realization of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor concept.
—Prime Minister Hatoyama stressed the importance of bringing the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty into force at an early date.
—The two leaders welcomed the Copenhagen Accord and reaffirmed their determination to work closely toward an agreed outcome to be adopted at the Sixteenth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
—They resolved to realize reform of the United Nations Security Council, especially expansion of the numbers of permanent and nonpermanent members.

Newspaper Editorials on the Japan-India Bilateral Summit

Japan’s five major newspapers all carried editorials on the significance and outcome of Prime Minister Hatoyama’s visit to India.

The Yomiuri editorial (December 29) observed, “India . . . is located in an important position connecting the Middle East and East Asia. Japan should promote an economic alliance and security cooperation with India and strengthen the bilateral relationship from a strategic perspective. India has been maintaining an annualized economic growth rate of 8% and has the second-largest population in the world. The country is an attractive economic market for advanced nations. The number of Japanese companies that have advanced into India has tripled in the past three years. But Japan’s total trade volume with India has remained at a low level, and amounts to about one-twentieth of the value of the trade this country does with China.” Calling for the enhancement of policies emphasizing India, it went on, “This summer [2009], South Korea signed an economic partnership agreement with India. Japan should be aware this means South Korean companies will be able to get a head start in India on a more advantageous footing than Japanese firms.”

The Asahi editorial (December 28) similarly commented, “India, the world’s largest democracy, and China are the two leading emerging economies among the Group of 20” and “[for the Hatoyama administration] In order to draw up a grand design for this regional cooperation, a close partnership with emerging giant India is indispensable.” The Asahi went on to note, however, that “India is also a tough negotiator in the multilateral diplomatic arena, as it relentlessly pursues its own national interests. In the United Nations Climate Change Conference, as well as in the World Trade Organization’s Doha Round, India, together with China, has vehemently pushed for the interests of developing countries and clashed with industrialized nations.” It expressed hope that India would “take on a more constructive role on global issues.”

The Mainichi editorial (December 30) also called for closer bilateral relations, including the early conclusion of a Japan-India economic partnership agreement. In the second half of the editorial, however, it pointed out, “What we hope for from India is positive efforts to address global-scale issues. India possesses nuclear weapons without being a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). At the United Nations General Assembly recently, together with North Korea it opposed a draft resolution on the total abolition of nuclear weapons.” The Mainichi requested India to make forward-looking efforts toward ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

The Nikkei editorial (December 30) stated that “The field in which both Japan and India can hope for benefits is probably the construction of infrastructure, which is the weak point of the Indian economy” and “Nuclear power generation, too, is promising. India is highly dependent on coal-fired thermal generation, and Japan has world-level makers like Toshiba and Hitachi that can respond to its huge potential demand for nuclear power.” It noted, however, that the realization of such cooperation requires consistency with Japan’s nuclear nonproliferation policy. The Nikkei said, “Prime Minister Hatoyama requested India’s participation in the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, but Prime Minister Singh only replied by explaining that India had voluntarily frozen nuclear tests and asking for understanding. We hope that both sides will make further diplomatic efforts aimed at a breakthrough.”

The Sankei Shimbun editorial (December 31) said that “the subcabinet/senior officials dialogue [agreed in the bilateral summit] envisions 2 + 2 ministerial-level consultations in the future. Apart from the subcabinet/senior officials 2 + 2 dialogue with the United States, this will be Japan’s second such dialogue following that with Australia. In the sense also of curbing the military emergence of China, we hope for the expansion and deepening of security cooperation between Japan and India. However, the main axis for developing strategic cooperation among Japan, the United States, Australia, and India remains the Japan-US alliance. Prime Minister Hatoyama should reaffirm the presence and role of the United States and make efforts toward the recovery and strengthening of trust between Japan and the United States.”

(Copyright 2010 Foreign Press Center, Japan)

*Japan Brief is an original production of the Foreign Press Center, Japan, and does not represent the views of the Government of Japan or of any other body.


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