India and Japan: News and Discussion

[SSridhar]

^ I do not think that there is any 'split' in China policies between India and Japan. There is, from all accounts, an unanimity of view of the Chinese threat and its no so 'peaceful rise'. However, for historical and other reasons, India may not so overtly be aggressive. Their approaches could be different but the goal is clear. In fact, India has a much, much bigger territorial dispute with China than Japan.

[Prem]

^ I do not think that there is any 'split' in China policies between India and Japan. There is, from all accounts, an unanimity of view of the Chinese threat and its no so 'peaceful rise'. However, for historical and other reasons, India may not so overtly be aggressive. Their approaches could be different but the goal is clear. In fact, India has a much, much bigger territorial dispute with China than Japan.

I am more concerned about the Chinese lobby within UPA. The consequences of failure in managing Chinese economic and military threat properly can be very well detrimental for India in long term. The current political/ruling dispensation have so far show no sign of far sight in understanding ,promoting, protecting core national interests at home or abroad.

[Prem]

The Emerging Japan-India Relationship: Nuclear Anachronism, Militarism and Growth Fetish

There is/was no need for this fellow to Bother his Mother for 9 Months

The emerging India-Japan relationship has been met with extreme reactions – from enthusiasm and protests in India and Japan, to concern in China. This new “strategic partnership,” and particularly the nuclear cooperation under negotiation, does not portend well for Asia. P K Sundaram, a strong advocate of better relations between the people of India and Japan, tells us why.
Strong ties between India and Japan can be seen as a pre-requisite for the emergence of Asia and could, in the context of a broader Asian regionalism, provide a way out of the morass created by a 20th century dominated by the West: militarism and wars, ecological crises and growth-obssessed economies. However, the current architecture of the bilateral relationship is centered on increased joint military initiatives and negotiations of civil nuclear cooperation and partnership for s fragile ecosystems. In particular, absent a change in course, it will fuel an anachronistic drive for nuclear energy in India, which is being imposed by the government through brutal repression amid macorporate-centric economic growth in India that is unleashing horror on its rural poor and ruining itssive peaceful protests by its farmers, fishermen and citizens.
Contours of the partnership
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1) Regional balance and stability in Asia: the current phase of close India-Japan relations is animated by a shared strategic agenda of encircling and countering China. The recent visit became more significant following heightened tensions with China over the latter's alleged incursion in Ladakh. Before the current border tensions, India and Japan had last year launched joint naval exercises in the Indian Ocean. Joint exercises between the Coast Guards of India and Japan were also held in Chennai in January 2012, and in Tokyo Bay in November 2012. Enhanced naval and maritime cooperation figures prominently in the joint statement issued last week. The strategic partnership between India and Japan spans a wide range of issues – from war in Afghanistan to the extended ASEAN security dialogues. While the two partners maintain that the maritime cooperation is for tackling piracy and ensuring safe commerce on the seas, China has considered it a threat to its interests in the Indian Ocean and part of the larger US strategy to encircle China.
Singh and Abe May 2013
International experts have warned against the perils of such efforts to contain China. Evan Resnick writes: “The continued conjunction of an increasingly powerful China with an ever more tightly-drawn US defence perimeter surrounding it poses a serious risk to peace and stability in East Asia. The Cold War case study imparts that the effective long-term containment of a rising adversary may paradoxically necessitate some accommodation of that state’s most urgent security concerns.” This growing rivalry has also accelerated China's increased closeness with Pakistan, which includes providing more reactors and the construction of the China-Pakistan corridor through what India considers Pakistan- occupied Kashmir (PoK). Chinese premier Li Keqiang visited Pakistan immediately after India this month, and spoke of a new vigor in their bilateral relations. Pakistan felt humiliated by India being given selective entry into global nuclear commerce facilitated by the US in 2008, amounting to a legitimization of India's nuclear weapons. Pakistan continues to face an international embargo on nuclear commerce and its non-cooperation on several issues stems from this setback.
2) Final blow to a nuclear non-proliferation regime guaranteeing nuclear profits: One of the key components of the multi-layered bilateral dialogue is negotiating a civil nuclear agreement with India. Besides allowing access to Japanese technology for its civilian nuclear facilities, the nuclear agreement is also crucial for US and French nuclear corporations. Their projects, worth billions of dollars, are stuck because certain crucial components for those reactors have to be supplied by Japanese companies – which cannot happen without a bilateral nuclear agreement between India and Japan. Such a bilateral agreement is important for the US since its major nuclear corporations, Westinghouse and General Electric (GE), are now owned by the Japanese companies Toshiba and Hitachi. Hence, both the US and France have been pushing Japan to enter into a nuclear agreement with India.However, Japan's decision to reward a country that has conducted nuclear tests and is continuously advancing its nuclear arsenal and delivery systems would be a fatal blow to the nonproliferation regime and would further reduce prospects for global disarmament. At a time when there are intense international pressures to prevent Iran from acquiring advanced civil nuclear capabilities as a serious threat to the proliferation regime, this would extend an India-US nuclear deal under which the US steered selective exemption for India from the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) rules in 2008 (these prohibit the supply of nuclear technology to non-signatories of the NPT). In fact, the NSG evolved out of the international response after India conducted its first nuclear tests in 1974 with the material and expertise it acquired from Canada, US, France and other countries under the rubric of the “peaceful” use of nuclear energy. However, there is widespread speculation that the Japanese government will abandon its insistence on honoring the CTBT and finalize the agreement with India once the Liberal Democratic Party returns to power with a stronger mandate after the upcoming July elections.In this 15th year since India's 1998 nuclear tests, the legitimization of nuclear weapons by Japan would set a bad precedent for other countries and would boost the nuclear and conventional arms race in South Asia. Contrary to initial claims that nuclear weapons would bring strategic stability to South Asia, India’s defence budget has gone up from Rs. 35,277 crore in 1998 to a whopping 2,03,671.1 crore in 2013 accelerating a regional arms race. According to a SIPRI report published in March, India this year became the world's largest importer of arms. The modernization of nuclear arsenals and the diversification of delivery systems is also proceeding unabated in the region. A Japan-India nuclear deal will strengthen the race to militarization and heighten the risk of nuclear war in Asia.
3) Fuelling India's nuclear energy expansion
The bargain legitimizing India's nuclear weapons in return for its purchase of reactors from the US, Russia, France and now Japan has translated into horror for the common people of India. While the India-US nuclear deal was touted as a convergence of the world’s oldest and biggest democracies, the Government of India is repressing large, grassroots anti-nuclear movements and ignoring the voices of village-level democratically elected bodies. India has plans to build at least 20 more reactors in the next 20-30 years, and has announced ambitious plans to produce 25% of its total electricity by nuclear power – a 100 fold expansion compared to its present nuclear capacity. This expansion has threated people with displacement and the loss of livelihood, radiation and threats to health and safety, and the forcible acquisition of agricultural land and irreversible damage to fragile ecosystems in several parts of the country.Popular protests on the issue of nuclear power in India have stemmed from three concerns: livelihood issues for the Indian poor, the inherent dangers of nuclear reactors and fears of an accident after Chernobyl and Fukushima, and the complete lack of transparency, accountability and efficiency of the Indian nuclear establishment.
The Indian state, in stark contrast, has repeatedly resorted to brutal repression against the people. In response to protests, thousands of policemen surrounded the villages in Koodankulam for several days cutting off essential supplies including food and medicines, flying planes above protesting people to intimidate them, killing fishermen in Jaitapur and Koodankulam with indiscriminate firing and baton-charges, ransacking houses and destroying fishing boats.
The passports of many youth in the region, who work as migrant labor in the Arabian Gulf, were impounded. The Prime Minister himself indulged in the demonization of the protests calling them “foreign funded.” International activists and journalists, including three Japanese nationals trying to visit Koodankulam, have been deported. While international surveys have showing popular disapproval of nuclear energy the world over, the Indian government sent psychological therapists to “counsel” protesting villagers in complete contempt for people's intelligence. The goverment has also refused to make public basic documents related to safety and the site-selection of Koodankulam and other reactors.The Supreme Court of India has recently given a go ahead to the Koodankulam reactors, overlooking the blatant violations of the regulator's own norms. The Court’s verdict rests on three hugely contested premises: the judges’ belief in the necessity of nuclear energy for India’s progress, their faith in the country’s nuclear establishment to responsibly perform its role, and the judges’ notion of the larger public interest amidst the apprehensions of small sections of people who they believe should make way for the country’s progress. Not only have the judges given judicial sanctity to these contestable propositions, they have also completely overlooked the Koodankulam-specific violations of safety norms raised by the petitioners. This is perhaps the world's only reactor being commissioned without an independent assessment of its environmental impact, without a natural source of fresh water, with thousands of people living a mere 700 metres from the reactor, and without accommodating the post-Fukushima lessons about the risk of housing the spent fuel pool in the main reactor building.
4) Japan's partnership with the Indian elite's anti-people and eco-destructive model of growth
The current 2+2 architecture of India-Japan relations prioritizes defense ties and a completely misleading and irrational model of economic “growth” over all else.. Imagine that India, China and Japan could together transform the global energy scenario into a safer, cleaner and certainly greener future. This could be a wonderful moment for Asia and one on which there is need for powerful, independent and collective leadership!” The Indian government is obsessed with achieving a 9-10% annual growth rate in coming years. However the surge in the growth rate over the last few years has been entirely jobless. In fact a recent study concluded that India has had negative job growth. The major reason is that while growth is negative in the manufacturing sector, agriculture is facing its worst crisis in India's recorded history and is experiencing a sharp decline. I
The current economic partnership between India and Japan would spur such a callous and nakedly lopsided “progress” in India. One such collaborative project that found prominent mention in the joint statement is an instructive case. The Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) project is a highly eco-destructive project to develop a high-speed road of 1700 kms from Delhi to Mumbai and build mega cities along this road. Thousands of villages would be displaced, land owners would make huge profits, and the agriculture in 6 states would be ruined. The DMIC would require about 10,000 hectares for the road and 20,000 hectares for the industrial zone, tearing through densely populated states and farmland. This is the biggest urbanization plan in India's history and would also mean its largest displacement of people – far more even than the bloody transfer of population during the India-Pakistan partition. To complete and sustain this project newer power plants and new mines would be required that would mean more displacement and the further erosion of India's rapidly depleting green cover. These 6 states in North India produce most of its food grain and the farmers are largely dependent on river and groundwater. Even beyond the project area, farmers would face acute water crises since this project would suck dry their ground water and irrigation canals. A massive movement of farmers is already emerging against this project.
While the world is still grappling with the implications of the Fukushima meltdowns, completion of the Japan-India nuclear agreement would be anachronistic. It would strengthen the insanity of India's imposing nuclear reactors on its people against their will. It would further fuel the nuclear arms race between India and Pakistan and would provide the ultimate legitimacy for India's nuclear tests. The agreement would destabilize the Asian continent by promoting India-Japan's strategic role in encircling China. An online appeal signed by more than 2000 international citizens has called for the termination of the nuclear agreement and a moratorium on Japan's nuclear export policy. It is time we listen to these voices of sanity.

[SSridhar]

The Emerging Japan-India Relationship: Nuclear Anachronism, Militarism and Growth Fetish
There is/was no need for this fellow to Bother his Mother for 9 Months

[SSridhar]

That article posted by Jhujar above is a completely biased one written with an unabashed anti-Indian slant. Such are the mental faculties of these nuclear disarmament and so-called 'peace' activists. I did not want it to go unchallenged. I posted the following. let us see if they publish that.

This is a very biased article which has either not paid a deep attention to history or has simply decided not to do so deliberately. It starts with the "alleged incursion" of China in Depsang Valley. The Chinese flatly denied that they incurred at all claiming that they were within their territory all the time. Their stand is that the incurred area belonged to them anyway and therefore it was wrong to call their act as incursion. This has been their tactic in South China Sea as well. they have their own nine-dashes map which flies in the face of the UNCLOS provisions and historical facts and claim the entire sea as theirs because, do not laugh, the sea is after all named after China. The aggressive Chinese have a pattern of behaviour with all its neighbours as far as the Chinese Communist version of lebensraum goes and India is no exception. For the author to cite the Daulat Beg Oldie incident as 'alleged incursion' flies in the face of established facts, Chinese behaviour, their claims and their historical actions. If it was not incursion, why have they never patrolled that are so far, why suddenly now and why did they eventually withdraw ? The usual argument put forward by Chinese apologists is that there is a differing perception of the LAC and this leads to such transgressions. Then, how come that no such serious incident like Depsang has ever been due to the Indian Army transgressing into 'Chinese territory' claiming the same difference in perception ? It was reported by the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs in the Indian Parliament last year that there were 505 trangressions in circa 2009, 228 in c. 2010, 213 in c. 2011. I would rather believe a statement made in Indian Parliament rather than describing them as 'alleged' intrusions.

The author also talks of the futility of encircling China. But, for decades now, it has been China that encircled India. Did it not sign an agreement in 1965 to assist Pakistan in nuclear weapons, within a year of its own detonation of a nuclear device ? In his manuscript "If I am Assassinated" written from his death cell, Z.A.Bhutto has clearly said that the negotiations for a nuclear weapon started with the Chinese in circa 1965 and Foreign Secretary Late Agha Shahi has since confirmed that. PAEC chief Dr. Munir Akram recalls FM Ayub Khan saying in late 1965 that ‘ . . . if needed, Pakistan could get it from China’, referring to the nuclear weapons. Did not China later transfer thousands of ring magnets for the centrifuges at Kahuta for enriching Uranium to weapons grade, did it not transfer its CHIC-4 nuclear weapon design to Pakistan (the blueprints for a weapon that China had detonated in its fourth nuclear test in 1966), did it not transfer 50 Kg of Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) to Pakistan (Chairman Mao agreed to this in a meeting with Z.A.Bhutto in c. 1976), did it not conduct cold test of the Pakistani nuclear weapon at Lop Nor on behalf of the Pakistanis, did it not transfer the missiles and missile technologies to target India and India alone ? Was not therefore China using Pakistan as its paw to massively threaten India and thus implement the Chinese plan of confining India to the so-called South Asian tinder box ?

The policy of encirclement and containment were thus seeded first and nurtured first by China.

Pakistan ceded 5000 Sq Kms of occupied Indian territory of J&K to China in a rushed through agreement in c. 1963 because Pakistan thought that enemy of the existential enemy was a friend. In view of the facts stated above which stretch back to c. 1962 when Pakistan decided to suddenly improve its relationship with Communist China (remember that as part of the western alliances against communism such as SEATO and CENTO as well as the bilaterla Mutual Defense Agreement between the US and Pakistan, Islamic republic of Pakistan was completely against God-less Communists), it is apparent that the author's claim that the emerging proximity between India and Japan is "has also accelerated China's increased closeness with Pakistan" is patently false.

The author also alludes to increasing interaction between the Indian Navy and the Japanese Maritime Self defnce Forces (JMSDF) as interpreted by the Chinese as a threat. There is ahistorical background to the proximity that developed. In October, 1999, Indian Coast Guard ship ICGS Tarabai and the Indian Naval Ship, INS Prahar captured a hijacked Japanese vessel MV Allondra Rainbow(and repainted as MV Mega Rama). This incident strengthened relations between the maritime defence forces of Japan and the Indian Coast Guard and the Indian Navy. Since a resource-scarce Japan depends on safe Sea lanes of Communication (SLOCs) for its economy and indeed its very survival, the increased piracy activities in and around the Horn of Africa since the 1990s and far away from Japanese shoes have been causing it a great deal of concern. The MV Allondra Rainbow incident therefore naturally brought the two nations together on issues of maritime security, anti-piracy operations and joint exercises. In fact, China also has a similar maritime security arrangement with the Indian navy and Coastguard.

The author also, once again, falsely claims that the emerging closeness between India and Japan is encouraging China to sell nuclear reactors to Pakistan and justifiably so. As an activist against nuclear proliferation, as the author claims himself to be, he should be equally concerned about the sale of these two reactors because they are new contracts though China falsely claims them as grandfathered under an old agreement prior to signing the NPT. It is therefore very obvious that these activists are only against Indian nuclear interests and selectively apply their 'compelling' arguments. The author has revealed, by using terms such as 'alleged incursion', 'what India considers as PoK' and by arguments such as those sited above, where his interests lay.

One can therefore see that the entire article is motivated, biased and not written with a neutral perspective as an academic exercise and analysis.

[svinayak]

You should also mention that this article may have been funded by Pakistan state or any other groups sympathizers to Pak.
They have been funding such article for a long time

[panduranghari]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... train.html

The new generation L0 Series trains, which employ the latest magnetic levitation technology instead of conventional wheels, will begin commercial services in 2027.
The first five cars of the new train, which has a distinct aerodynamic "nose" at the front, were displayed on a test track in Yamanashi Prefecture.
The carriages, which are propelled by magnetic forces, were pulled along the track by a special maintenance vehicle as part of preliminary trials, with wide-scale tests due to commence in September.
The new train, designed by Central Japan Railway Co (JR Tokai), will initially link central Tokyo with Nagoya station, cutting current bullet train journey times by more than half, from 90 to 40 minutes.
The final train will consist of 16 carriages carrying up to 1,000 passengers at a time, with plans under way to extend the line to Osaka by 2045. The plan is ultimately to create a high-speed mass transit maglev network across the country.

Shinzo Abe, the prime minister, is currently pushing for a surge in sales of Japanese road, railway and power station technology to emerging nations such as India, which is expected to use Japan's bullet train technology for a new Mumbai to Ahmedabad line.

[Christopher Sidor]

The Emerging Japan-India Relationship: Nuclear Anachronism, Militarism and Growth Fetish

There is/was no need for this fellow to Bother his Mother for 9 Months
....
....
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What a piece of crap.

[rsingh]

The Emerging Japan-India Relationship: Nuclear Anachronism, Militarism and Growth Fetish
There is/was no need for this fellow to Bother his Mother for 9 Months

Doesn't look like he was bothering for 9 months, mental development is incomplete.

[member_23629]

You should also mention that this article may have been funded by Pakistan state or any other groups sympathizers to Pak.
They have been funding such article for a long time

This particular article seems to be funded by the Goras, the same people who were behind the Kundakulam protests. This Sundaram dude works for Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace. Its website gives nothing away about its funding sources or office bearers. Looks like a shady Gora operation in India.

[SSridhar]

They do not want to publish my rebuttal.

[Prem]

Japan Works On Prototype Supersonic Passenger Airplane

The Concorde could be said to be one of the more successful failures, as trans-Atlantic travel for those who are on a clock (and have plenty of money to burn literally speaking) was in vogue for some time before it became economically disastrous for whoever runs the Concorde show. Well, the folks in Japan always had this knack of getting a whole lot more bang for your buck – take the Nissan Skyline GT-R for instance, that beast of a vehicle might have a smaller engine capacity than some other American muscle, but it still offers supercar performance when tuned correctly. Well, that aside, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is said to be working on a new kind of aircraft which looks as though it was specially designed to pay homage to the first supersonic commercial aircraft in the world.
Not yet named, this aircraft is still a prototype, but it has the ability to achieve supersonic speeds without causing too much sound, quite unlike one of the Concorde’s chief complaints. In fact, this Japanese invention is said to be the 75% quieter than the Concorde, but it does carry a lower number of passengers at just 50 heads.

Japan Still Have Jaan and Dream

[Prem]

Japan's New Prime Minister Unveils The 'Most Important' Plank Of Abenomics
http://www.businessinsider.com/japans-n ... z2VNFgVgLQ

OKYO (AP) — Prime Minister Shinzo Abe outlined Wednesday a sweeping blueprint for rejuvenating Japan's ailing economy with reforms meant to bring more women into the workforce, promote industrial innovation and coax cash-hoarding corporations into investing more.The strategies Abe sketched out in a speech form the third and most important plank in his "Abenomics" platform, which so far has focused on what he calls the first "two arrows" in his arsenal: loosening monetary policy and boosting public spending. He has promised structural reforms to underpin growth in the long run as Japan's population ages and shrinks."Now is the time for Japan to be an engine for world economic recovery," Abe said. "Japanese business, what is being asked is that you speed up. Do not fear risk, be determined and use your capacity for action."
Without an overhaul of Japan's bureaucracy and its agricultural, industrial and labor policies, economists say Abenomics is bound to provide only a temporary boost to growth while vastly increasing the country's public debt burden. All agree that reforms are needed to break Japan free of the deflationary malaise that has stymied growth since its bubble economy collapsed more than 20 years ago and sustain growth in the future.
Abe pledged Wednesday to raise Japanese incomes by 3 percent a year to protect consumers' purchasing power if the government meets its target of boosting inflation to 2 percent within two years. However, his speech was short on details of how to achieve that aim after more than two decades of economic stagnation.
He also promised to raise Japan's per capita gross national income by more than 1.5 million yen ($14,970) in 10 years. It now is about $45,000 a year.
So far the government has taken only piecemeal initiatives such as loosening controls on online sales of over-the-counter drugs. Abe intends to raise private investment in roads and to set up "strategic economic zones" where private companies will be allowed to operate public facilities such as airports.
Abe has repeatedly stressed his desire to encourage more women to work by improving access to affordable child care and extending parental leave. He also has called for improved English language instruction and loosening of labor regulations that discourage job hopping. He did not discuss details of those plans in his speech.Abe had promised to present his reform proposals by mid-June, a month ahead of an election for the upper house of parliament that his Liberal Democratic Party is determined to win — possibly assuring Abe another three years in office. But amid the recent volatility in financial markets and questions over his resolve to follow through with reforms, he has offered repeated previews of what he has in mind.Though Japan's plan to join the "Trans-Pacific Partnership," an Asian-Pacific regional trade pact, could provide some foreign pressure to modernize and open up protected farming and other areas, most changes would come years later, says Junji Nakagawa, an expert on the TPP at Tokyo University.

[Klaus]

It would be optimal if the Indo-Japanese cooperation could be extended to the BMIC (Bangalore Mumbai Industrial Corridor) as well. Since Japan has already committed to investments in the Delhi-Mumbai DFC, Mum-Ahmedabad HSR and the Bangalore-Chennai routes it only makes sense to connect the stretch between Mumbai-Bangalore.

The BMIC was taken up during UK's David Cameron visit to India, it would be better if the Japanese get the contracts instead of the Brits. This could add to future freight corridors as well as select routes for HSR (Hubli-Bangalore for example). Otherwise there occur integration problems during transfer between different systems.

[SSridhar]

Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor report before year-end: PM's Advisor - ToI

The ambitious Chennai-Bangalore industrial corridor project may soon become a reality. The project report of the scheme, aimed at improving the speedy transportation of consignments to the other side of the border, will be ready by this year-end, said advisor to the Prime Minister, T K A Nair. The UPA government announced the high-cost traffic corridor in its recent budget.

"The first step for making a comprehensive integrated project has now started. This was one of the points agreed upon by the Prime Ministers (of India and Japan), when they met last month," Nair said, on the sidelines of a function to inaugurate a glass fibre reinforced gypsum demo building at IIT-Madras. The project report will be prepared by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the technical study is being funded by Japan.

"Work will start later," Nair said. Nair said it would be extended to Andhra Pradesh later. "The first phase is between Chennai and Bangalore and then it will get extended. That is the basic decision. We have had discussions with Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh governments," he said.

[SSridhar]

New Road Overbridge near Ennore by next year - The Hindu

The Tamil Nadu Road Development Corporation (TNRDC) will undertake a composite contract for constructing approach roads and a road overbridge at Athippattu near Ennore, said T.K. A. Nair, Adviser to Prime Minister, here [Chennai] on Friday. {Nair visits Chennai once every few weeks to expedite the projects}

Mr Nair said that the capacity of the existing bridge at Athippattu is only 300 tonnes and the Japanese company Toshiba is in the process of setting up a turbine and generator plant near Ennore. The new bridge will be constructed as the existing bridge will not be able to handle the capacity of turbines that weigh nearly 500 tonnes, .

Usually, the State government lays the approach roads and the bridge across the railway tracks is taken care of by the railways. But, considering the urgency in the matter it was decided to entrust the work to the TNRDC, {We need pressure from foreign governments to make lethargic Indian government departments work faster} he said. Toshiba is expected to manufacture and transport the first turbine in June next year before which the bridge work would be completed. He said the Ennore Manali Road Improvement Project (EMRIP), is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

An integrated master plan for Chennai – Bangalore Industrial Corridor has been entrusted to Japan International Cooperation Agency. It is expected to be ready by this year end. The Japanese government will fund the project. Talking about the Chennai Port – Madhuravoyal Elevated Express Corridor, Atulya Misra, Chairman, Chennai Port Trust said issues relating to the construction of pillars on the waterways had been resolved. {This is excellent news. I hope this project goes on top speed now}

[SSridhar]

Tamilnadu making strides in Infrsatruture building, says PM's advisor - Business Line

Tamil Nadu is making very good progress in infrastructure creation, especially in and around Chennai, according to T. K. A. Nair, advisor to the Prime Minister. “This will result in the State getting greater attention from Japanese investors,” he told Business Line after reviewing the ongoing projects in the State.

Nair has been visiting Chennai regularly in the recent past to review various projects, especially the port connectivity projects.

Masanori Nakano, Consul-General of Japan in Chennai, said everything related to infrastructure has been sorted out. There are nearly 350 Japanese units in Tamil Nadu and more are expected in future with improvement in infrastructure.

[brihaspati]

But Japan is a key component through which western inputs flow into Pak in certain strategic sectors - especially "infrastructure" in the north above Pindi latitude. They appear to have a presence in NA. Possible to find motives in tactical presence to watch PLA/China. But their inclusion into the "friends" of Pak circle needs to be kept in mind.

[SSridhar]

One of the biggest projects that Japan was involved in TSP was building the Indus Highway and the Friendship Tunnel at Kohat. Incidentally, the Friendship tunnel fell into taliban hands at the height of on-going the jihad and remained so for a long time. There have been a large number of mountain climbing groups from Japan which have traditionally received permission to climb K2 and other peaks in NA. After 1998, the suspended Japanese ODA grants/loans were revived only in c. 2005 at the prodding of the US. Since then, the ODA has focussed on energy and transportation sectors. Certainly, Japan was a key component of the 3½ Friends coterie. It may not be so active today as it begins to take serious note of its interests in the Indian sub-continent. The ODA disbursal since 2005 has not amounted to much and in fact it was suspended when Japan was having a financial crunch in the last few years (India was the only exception to that). Total annual trade volume is 2 B USD.

[Philip]

I wish that our dear PM had visited the Yakasumi shrine and paid his respects to the Japanese who fought in WW2.India is unique in that we fought on both sides! The INA under Netaji,fought most gallantly with their Japanese compatriots against the British Raj.Also remember that in the kangaroo court after the War that condemned PM Gen.Hideki Tojo to death,the dissenting voice was that of the heroic Indian judge,justice Pal ( the sole expert on international law,whose dissenting verdict has been the shining example of the Indian judiciary.

There were those like the sole expert on international law on the tribunal, the Indian judge, Radhabinod Pal, who believed the trial an ethical travesty, since it included the crimes committed by the Japanese against the city of Nanking did not address the atomic bombings of 2 metropolitan areas (Hiroshima and Nagasaki). Pal used the phrase my father did: "victor's justice."

[SSridhar]

India-Japan Strategic Partnership - Rajiv Nayan, IDSA

As expected, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s recent visit to Japan culminated in an India-Japan joint statement on May 29, 2013. Though several occasions during the visit provided opportunities to the Indian and Japanese premiers to make several policy statements on past achievements and the great untapped potential of the India-Japan bilateral relationship, yet, as is current practice, it is worth evaluating success of the visit on the merit of the joint statement.

In recent years, several joint statements such as the January 18, 2005 India-United States joint statement, which pronounced the India-US civil nuclear energy initiative, have highlighted a new bilateral summit diplomacy in nuclear and high technology. The same kind of statement was issued when US President Barack Obama visited India in November 2010. That joint statement, among other issues discussed, endorsed India’s membership to the four multilateral export controls regimes—the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), the Australia Group, and the Wassenaar Arrangement.

Has the May 29, 2013 joint statement made any significant announcements on the India-Japan strategic relationship? Observers interested in the relationship had great hope in Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe given his strategic vision and a significant place for India in it. The joint statement, of course, underlined a number of ongoing issues which are the backbone of the strategic/security relationship. However, most of the issues fall in the economic realm.

The real expectation from the visit was regarding important decisions on defence issues and nuclear and advanced technology commerce. Maritime security cooperation seems to have continued with extra measures like a Joint Working Group (JWG) to look at “modality for the cooperation on the US-2 amphibian aircraft”. Terrorism, another old issue for security cooperation, has been re-iterated through the JWG on Counter-terrorism and the two countries cooperation in multilateral fora, and importantly the need to “finalize and adopt the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism in the United Nations”. However, like its ally (the US), Japan is also directionless on the current source of international terrorism, namely, Pakistan.

The India-Japan civil nuclear energy agreement once again received a positive mention in the statement, though in concrete terms the joint statement did not move forward much. The statement recorded: “The two Prime Ministers reaffirmed the importance of civil nuclear cooperation between the two countries, while recognizing that nuclear safety is a priority for both Governments. In this context, they directed their officials to accelerate the negotiations of an Agreement for Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy towards an early conclusion.”

In fact, this positive language for India-Japan civil nuclear energy cooperation has been finding expression in all the joint statements issued in recent years, especially after the move for India-specific NSG exemptions. If we consider the situation existing before the 2005 India-US Civil Nuclear Energy Initiative, it may be considered a great achievement. However, if we consider the pace at which the civil nuclear energy negotiation between the two countries is moving, it is quite disappointing. A detailed and successful agreement between the two countries is extremely necessary.

Certain forces, however, are hindering the successful agreement. First, after the Fukushima incident in 2011, anti-nuclear groups in Japan have been demanding a complete ban on use and export of nuclear technology and goods. The mention of nuclear safety as a priority in this statement may have been added to address growing concerns for nuclear safety in both the countries. In Japan, as elsewhere in the world, anti-nuclear forces protest the transfer of nuclear technology. They argue that it is unethical for Japan to transfer a technology which it is not going to use itself. In reality, Japan is finding it difficult to shut down all the nuclear power plants and do away with its reliance on nuclear energy for electricity and other industrial uses. Therefore, nuclear safety is not an issue on which India and Japan have any serious problem. The Fukushima complex used the Boiling Water Reactor. India too has boiling water reactors, but had modified their design before the Fukushima incident occurred. Japan and India may further share their experience in nuclear safety, though both countries have been interacting with each other in several international fora.

Second, existing political combinations and permutations in the Japanese Parliament may be hindering Prime Minister Abe to give an extra push to conclude the agreement. Optimists, however, are confident that after the elections to the Upper House of the Japanese Diet, scheduled to take place by the end of 2013, Prime Minister Abe’s position shall be strengthened internally which will enable him to take a bold decision.

Third, there are anti-India, non-proliferation elements operating in the Japanese Government. Very little support, fortunately, exists for this anti-India bureaucracy outside of the group. Despite this fact, Prime Minister Abe may have to tame this existing anti-India non-proliferation group in his government if he wants to do any meaningful business with India.

Regarding advanced technology commerce, the joint statement has not made significant movement forward. Although over the past few years, Japan has liberalized its rigid export controls provisions for India and removed a number of Indian organizations from the end-user list, India has not yet been aligned in Japanese export controls. Talks have been on for several years. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) in Japan is seriously negotiating for better export controls to undertake high technology commerce with India, but some non-issues appear overshadowing the real issues.

However, Japan’s endorsement of India’s candidature for the four major multilateral export controls regimes seems to be the principal achievement of the joint statement. The pro-India elements in the Japanese Government seem to have triumphed over the anti-India non-proliferation group, which was resisting the Japanese support for India’s membership. Even the support for the India-specific exemptions in the guidelines of the NSG came quite late from Japan. And the general understanding is that the US had to intervene in order to get these through. Under Abe’s leadership, Japan needs to play a pro-active role to persuade some of the European members of these groups to support India’s case. Of course, India will have to manage China.

China’s response to the joint statement following the Indian Prime Minister visit is a wake up call for the Japanese leadership. Abe knows the relevance and the potential of the India-Japan strategic partnership. His political colleagues and the bureaucracy need to understand it further. A robust India-Japan relationship is a win-win situation for both countries in a global strategic environment increasingly shaped by Asian powers.

[abhishek_sharma]

Japan Is Back: A Conversation With Shinzo Abe

[SSridhar]

Cut Redtape, Speed up nod for big ticket infra projects: Japan tells India - Economic Times

Japan, an important funding source for India's growth story, has urged New Delhi to unravel the red tape holding up big-ticket infrastructure projects that it is ready to fund.

Akihiko Tanaka, president of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), told ET that he has urged finance minister P Chidambaram to speed up project approvals, as their execution cannot start without paperwork. Tanaka had met Chidambaram on Monday.

Japan has extended Yen 2,065 billion or $21 billion (at today's exchange rate) in aid to India over the last 10 years since 2002, helping put on track a host of infrastructure projects such as Delhi's showcase metro rail. Among the projects now being funded by the country are the western freight and Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridors, Line-3 in Mumbai Metro's first phase and development of highways in Bihar.

"We cannot start a project without signing the loan agreement. I have asked the finance minister to make necessary arrangements so that the loan agreements for the four major projects can go on in a timely manner," Tanaka said. "All four projects are quite important, so I asked him to arrange the Cabinet meeting and other processes to make the final approvals of foreign loan programs."

The four projects referred to by Tanaka are the Mumbai Metro Line-3 project, widening of highways in Bihar to four lanes, a $137-million investment promotion programme in Tamil Nadu and the development of Indian Institute of Technology's Hyderabad campus through a $186 million loan.

Tanaka's comment assumes significance in the backdrop of the recent meeting between Manmohan Singh and his Japanese counterpart, Shinzo Abe, at which Japan committed $747 million for the Mumbai Metro line and extended a yen loan equivalent of $3.7 billion for eight other projects.

Japan has often voiced concern over the tardy pace of pace of approvals. JICA's chief representative in India Shinya Ejima, had earlier told ET that going forward, the agency would only sign loan deals if approvals, such as environment clearances and most of the land acquisition, are in place.

"My visit is a follow-up of the meeting between the Indian and Japanese PMs. I met the FM and have reviewed the progress of co-operative projects and discussed future prospects of cooperation between India and JICA," Tanaka said.

Tanaka said he expected better progress on the $90-billion Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, which was reviewed by the two PMs. The national highway improvement plan for Bihar involves widening of the NH 82 along the Buddhist circuit. JICA has been ready to fund these projects since 2010, but they are yet to get Cabinet clearance. "I may be wrong, but Bihar, perhaps, is not a particularly attractive place for private sector investment. So for development in Bihar, there is room for institutions like us, which specialise in development assistance," Tanaka said.

The bulk of JICA's aid to India so far has been for the infrastructure sector-about 49% of its assistance since 2002 has gone into transportation projects and 20% to power sector.

[SSridhar]

Jayalalitha seeks JICA aid for Infrastructure projects in TN
She must read the above post. The Japanese are concerned about delays etc.

Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Wednesday asked the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to join her government as a partner in implementing some of the 200 infrastructure projects that are to be announced in the next volume of ‘Vision Tamil Nadu 2023’, a document unveiling a strategic plan for infrastructure development.

Chennai Waterways Restoration Project, upgrading of urban infrastructure in the extended areas of the city, the Madurai-Tuticorin Industrial Corridor and components of the State Highways Development Project were candidate projects that it could look at for financing next fiscal.

The second volume of the Vision Document is to be released shortly, she said during a meeting with the visiting JICA president, Akihiko Tanaka, at the Secretariat here.

Noting that the State government looked forward to continued and enhanced engagement with JICA, Ms.Jayalalithaa requested the Agency to consider assisting the Project Preparation Fund of the Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Development Board. It would help the project development of bankable PPP projects.

An official release said Ms.Jayalalithaa also asked the Agency to explore the possibility of setting up a separate line of credit for private partners selected for the implementation of PPP (public private partnership) projects in Tamil Nadu. This would support the Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Development Fund provide Viability Gap Funding for PPP projects and long-term financing directly to private sector developers towards enabling them to reach financial closure early.

Thanking JICA for its support in formulation of Tamil Nadu Investment Promotion Programme, she said major projects implemented with the Agency’s assistance in the State include Tamil Nadu Afforestation Project-II, Hogenakkal Water Supply and Fluorosis Mitigation project, Tamil Nadu Urban Infrastructure Project, Tamil Nadu Biodiversity Conservation and Greening project, and Chennai Metro Rail project.

This year, a new Tamil Nadu Transmission System Improvement Project with a JICA loan of Rs.3,410 crore (607.40 billion yen) is to be implemented. It would help strengthen the power transmission network. Given the additional power generation capacity of 6,000 MW expected to be commissioned within the next two years, the project would be a critical supplementary component in the efficient distribution of electricity.

The JICA president indicated Tamil Nadu had the great potential to become the hub of industrial growth in the Indian Ocean region. Appreciating the rapid implementation of many infrastructure projects by the State government, he promised continued support for such projects.

[SSridhar]

Shinzo Abe Condoles Uttarakhand Deaths - The Hindu

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has condoled the Uttarakhand deaths and announced an emergency grant aid of $2,00,000 (about Rs. 1.2 crore) through the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The U.S. also announced a step-up in the aid by promising to provide $75,000 to an NGO called Catholic Relief Services. It had earlier released $1,50,000 to Plan India and Save the Children India.

Aside: How can the US release funds to a patently religious organization like Catholic Relief Services ?

[SSridhar]

Japan Gears Up for Decisive Election - Business Line

Campaigning began today in an election expected to strengthen Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s control over Parliament, ushering in the stability he needs to fix Japan’s floundering economy.

Voters nationwide will go to the polls on July 21 to elect half of the 242 seats in the upper house of the legislature.

With approval ratings as high as 70 per cent, Abe is expected to romp home, bagging control of both chambers and not having to face a public vote for three years.

Supporters say he will use that political clout to force changes on cosseted and inefficient industries, like agriculture, and to cut a swathe through labour laws that businesses claim make it too difficult to hire and fire workers.

Detractors say he will abandon the economic project of his first six months and get back on his hobby horse — revising the constitution, boosting the military and re-assessing Japan’s wartime history.

“We want to... stabilise politics and bring you the actual feeling,” that the economy is picking up, Abe said in a party leaders’ debate yesterday.

For the first time in Japanese politics, Internet election campaigns are allowed in the upper house vote, with candidates and parties permitted to update followers on Facebook and Twitter.

The opening months of the Abe administration have seen a blizzard of economic policies, starting with vast government spending programmes and a flood of easy money from the printing presses of the central bank.

The drive — dubbed “Abenomics” — is intended to be completed with reforms that the prime minister hopes will make it easier to do business in Japan.

Details are scant at present, but Abe’s wishlist includes lowered corporate taxes, special business zones in some big cities, more women in the workplace and Japan’s participation in a mooted free trade area encircling the Pacific Ocean.

Abe said yesterday he would also liberalise the electricity market, in a move supporters hope will free the country from the stranglehold of massive monopolistic utilities that generate and supply power.

Opponents say the premier’s focus on the economy is a ruse designed to fool voters into giving him enough power to change Japan’s hallowed pacifistic constitution.

They say with a majority in both houses, he will look to bolster the country’s already well equipped armed forces and switch their role from that of “self defence force” to full-fledged military.

[Rahul M]

They do not want to publish my rebuttal.

it is published now.

[Virupaksha]

Shinzo Abe Condoles Uttarakhand Deaths - The Hindu

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has condoled the Uttarakhand deaths and announced an emergency grant aid of $2,00,000 (about Rs. 1.2 crore) through the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The U.S. also announced a step-up in the aid by promising to provide $75,000 to an NGO called Catholic Relief Services. It had earlier released $1,50,000 to Plan India and Save the Children India.

Aside: How can the US release funds to a patently religious organization like Catholic Relief Services ?

I apologize in advice if I am missing sarcasm.

SSridhar,

I can beleive if a nanha or an US infactuated guy was making that statement.

US always has been through out its history has put the christian flag first and every thing later. During the american occupation of Japan, they thought of converting even the emperor. When McArthur was the defacto ruler of Japan, the below are his statements.
http://www.kennyjoseph.com/Articles/Mac2.htm

Dear Dr. North: I have read your report that the American Bible Society, working in conjunction with the Japan Bible Society, has made possible the distribution of more than 4,000,000 copies of the Scriptures since the beginning of the Occupation. My Chaplain.., tells me that people offifty?one denominations in forty?eight States have contributed to this project. That your expenditures have now passed the $1,000,000 mark is an indication of the great generosity of the American people and represents a very gratifying achieve?ment. You are well on the way to reaching the goal of 10,000,000 copies which I requested. I confidently believe you will succeed...

nother 1950 telegram from General Macarthur went to Chicago to the Gideon’s as follows:

"I have publicly stated my firm belief that Christianity offers to Japanese a sure and stable foundation on which to build a democratic nation. Japanese are becoming increasingly aware of fundamental values of Christian religion and appreciative of its spiritual and moral blessing. Your assistance will be of inestimable value.

Why do you think South Korea is now 40% christian within 50 years of US occupation and the buddists are being persecuted or have we already forgotten how phillipines was converted at the end of a bullet within 100 years?

It is a testament to Japan's will that they resisted the americans.

The american chest beaters of its secularism can go and ask the day to day administrators of the local hindu temples if they have doubts. I know of a temple where the "neighbors" appoint people so that if the temple opens at 6.59 instead of 7.00 as said in their application, they have brought "trouble".

[member_19686]

^^

Japan closes itself to the world until the U.S. forced it to open up

To all intents and purposes Japan became a sealed land, "hermetically" closed to the outside world. It remained sealed about two hundred and fifty years until Commodore Perry, in the middle of the last century, opened the gates of the Land of the Rising Sun in unmistakable Western [Christian] fashion—by pointing against the recluse nation the yawning mouths of heavy naval guns. [3]

[3] It is strange that America, as late as the beginning of the second half of the last century, was tempted into behaving like the Catholic Church in her dealing with Japan. Suffice to quote the New York Weekly Tribune referring to the Perry mission.

"In this state of things, going thus into pagan realms, it behooves us [Protestant America] not to lose opportunity of laboring for the spiritual benefit of the benighted Japanese. Let not these misguided men, fighting for their own, perish without the benefit of the clergy."

When America sent Perry, and his Black Ships entered Japan's waters, they used the threat of their fire power to blackmail Japan into opening up for trade again. This time, the trade was enforced and accompanied by Protestant missionaries from the U.S. instead of those from Europe's Catholic nations.

http://freetruth.50webs.org/A4c.htm

[SSridhar]

They do not want to publish my rebuttal.

it is published now.

Rahul, thanks for bring it to my attention.

[Cosmo_R]

"Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has condoled the Uttarakhand deaths and announced an emergency grant aid of $2,00,000 (about Rs. 1.2 crore) through the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The U.S. also announced a step-up in the aid by promising to provide $75,000 to an NGO called Catholic Relief Services. It had earlier released $1,50,000 to Plan India and Save the Children India."

So where is the Red Trishul? A professionally managed Hindu relief effort staffed by competent people who are not going to indulge in drama and focus on being first responders?

The point is that unless/until disaster relief under a purely Indian rubric is institutionalized, the Red Crescent/Cross have the field.

It's the same reason Ratan Tata gifted $X millions to Cornell/Harvard whatever because they are professional about it and and keep accounts, and not to Indian universities who would not be able to account for it.

In India, we have a long way to go in professionalizing indigenous charities that have a track record. The PMO relief fund is stupid.

If there were a Red Trishul, one could demand that the US and others fund it in similar fashion.

[SSridhar]

Japanese conquers local hearts

Chennai: Nearly 2,000 candidates have registered for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT). The figure points to a growing interest in the East Asian tongue. The two thousand, who are expected to take the test on July 7 at Meenakshi College for Women in Kodambakkm, are drawn from across South India.

The examination, conducted by Japan Foundation in association with Japan Educational Exchanges and Services, for non-native speakers of Japanese evaluates and certifies the candidate’s proficiency in the language. Japanese language teachers say the number of JLPT candidates from Chennai are on the rise. Last, year, the city recorded the maximum in the country.

“Last year 30 per cent of the total number of applicants was from Chennai for the December test,” says G.Ramesh, faculty, S&N Hayakawa. The test is conducted twice a year (July and December). Students and those employed in the manufacturing sector are among those who take the test.

[Agnimitra]

^^ For some reason there is a great interest in Tamil Nadu and Tamil films in Japan also.

[SSridhar]

Tamil films have been, for an unknown reason, a rage in Japan for about a decade or more now. The superstar, Rajni Kanth, set the trend. Interest for the Japanese language in TN is probably because of the hundreds of Japanese industries, big and small, in and around Chennai.

[svinayak]

^^ For some reason there is a great interest in Tamil Nadu and Tamil films in Japan also.

Orthodox tamize boys from Tanjore have married Japanese girls in the last 10 years. Lot of Satyam employees who have settled in Japan for the last 12 years. The Japanese girls once they decide will be very loyal. The children have Indian features.

[SSridhar]

Ahh. . .

[Prem]

In Okinawa, Talk of Break From Japan Turns Serious

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/06/world ... .html?_r=0

NAHA, Japan — In a windowless room in a corner of a bustling market where stalls displayed severed pigs’ heads and bolts of kimono silk, Okinawans gathered to learn about a political idea that until recently few had dared to take seriously: declaring their island chain’s political independence from Japan.About two dozen people of all ages listened as speakers challenged the official view of Okinawa as inherently part of homogeneous Japan, arguing instead that Okinawans are a different ethnic group whose once-independent tropical islands were forcibly seized by Japan in 1879. Then, to lighten the mood, the organizers showed “Sayonara, Japan!”, a comedy about a fictional Okinawan island that becomes its own little republic.“Until now, you were mocked if you spoke of independence,” said one speaker, Kobun Higa, 71, a retired journalist whose book on the history of the tiny independence movement has become a hot seller online. “But independence may be the only real way to free ourselves from the American bases.”Mr. Higa and other advocates admit that few islanders would actually seek independence for Okinawa, the southernmost Japanese island chain, which is home to 1.4 million residents and more than half of the 50,000 American troops and sailors based in Japan. But discontent with the heavy American presence and a growing perception that the central government is ignoring Okinawans’ pleas to reduce it have made an increasing number of islanders willing to at least flirt publicly with the idea of breaking apart in a way that local politicians and scholars say they have not seen in decades.



“Before, independence was just something we philosophized about over drinks,” said Masahide Ota, a former governor of Okinawa, who is not a member of the movement.“Now, it is being taken much more seriously.”The independence movement remains nascent, with a few hundred active adherents at most. But Mr. Ota and others say it still has the potential to complicate Japan’s unfolding contest with China for influence in the region.That struggle expanded recently to include what appears to be a semiofficial campaign in China to question Japanese rule of Okinawa. Some analysts see the campaign as a ploy to strengthen China’s hand in a dispute over a smaller group of islands that has captured international headlines in recent months. Some Chinese scholars have called for exploiting the independence movement to say there are splits even in Japan over the legitimate ownership of islands annexed during Japan’s imperial expansion in the late 19th century, as Okinawa and the smaller island group were.
Okinawa has long looked and felt different from the rest of Japan, with the islands’ tropical climate, vibrant musical culture and lower average incomes setting it apart. Strategically situated in the center of East Asia, the islands, once known as the Kingdom of the Ryukyus, have had a tortured history with Japan since the takeover, including the forced suicides of Okinawan civilians by Japanese troops during World War II and the imposition of American bases after the war.For years, Okinawans directed much of their ire over the bases at the United States. But that changed four years ago when the Japanese prime minister at the time, Yukio Hatoyama, reneged on campaign pledges to move the bustling Marine air base at Futenma off Okinawa, rather than to a less populated site on the island as previous governments had approved. After that, many Okinawans shifted much of their anger toward the rest of Japan, which wants the United States military presence to offset China’s growing power, but is unwilling to shoulder more of the burden of bases for fear of crime, noise and accidents.

[sanjaykumar]

Some Chinese scholars have called for exploiting the independence movement to say there are splits even in Japan over the legitimate ownership of islands annexed during Japan’s imperial expansion in the late 19th century, as Okinawa and the smaller island group were.


Perhaps these same scholars can turn their academic focus to East Turkestan, Mongolia and Tibet.

Japanese relationship with Okinawa is a fraught one-Japanese may, in fact don't, consider Okinawans to be true Japanese.

[member_19686]

Here are the most recent survey results:

The only surprise is that they’re surprised

Posted by ampontan on Tuesday, October 30, 2012

TO the extent anyone talks about it, people tend to present the Okinawan independence movement as more significant a factor in public opinion than the reality might warrant. This post from February 2007 contains the results of a survey conducted by the University of the Ryukyus:

The Okinawa Residents’ Identity Survey 2006 discovered that 78% of those Okinawans surveyed between the ages of 18 and 24 were opposed to independence. That’s more than 10 percentage points higher than the total of 65% for all respondents. The people favoring independence gave as their primary reason the difference in political, economic, and social conditions from the rest of Japan, as well as a different historical experience. The foremost reason for those opposed was that Okinawa did not have the capability to be independent.

When asked about their identity, 57% of the young people said they were both Okinawan and Japanese, a far higher total than the 40% figure for the entire population. Just 20% considered themselves Okinawan only, substantially less than the overall total of 30%...

http://ampontan.wordpress.com/2012/10/3 ... surprised/

More info at the above link.

Perhaps NYT should also be doing more reporting on what the Mongols in Inner Mongolia, the Uighurs, & the Tibetans feel about their Han colonizers?

[SSridhar]

Japanese Emperor Coming to Boost Ties - Sandeep Dikshit, The Hindu

In a message to the wider world, and also to its own people, about the importance of its ties with India, Japan on Tuesday announced the first-ever visit to India by its Emperor and Empress.

According to the tentative schedule, the Japanese royal couple will arrive here [New Delhi] on November 30 and leave for Chennai on December 4. They will return to Tokyo the next day.

And on the real-politic front, Japan will expand the strength of its mission here by posting two more military officers, an Air Attache and a Naval Attache. It already has a representative from the Self Defence Forces (Army). The two officers are expected to assume their posts before the end of the year.

The Emperor of Japan is the titular head of the country, but his overseas visits are carefully calibrated and form an important part of Tokyo’s statecraft. For instance, China has been an important country for Japan after World War II. But the Emperor visited the country in 1992 as Tokyo felt its ties were at a take-off stage, pointed out Prof. Lalima Varma of the Centre of East Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University.

“The Japanese now want India to be an important partner for Japan. This is what they did [send the Emperor on state visits] with some European countries when they felt the need to show extra friendship,” replied Prof. Varma when asked about the symbolism of the Emperor’s visit India.

India and Japan are currently engaged in talks at several levels to step up mutual trust and security, and economic ties. The two have signed a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement, agreed on a first-ever sale of a highly sophisticated dual use amphibious aircraft and agreed to join hands for a mega industrial corridor in India. The two countries held one round of bilateral naval exercises in June last year and during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s recent visit to Tokyo, decided to hold a second and expanded edition in the second half of this year off the Indian coast.