India and Japan: News and Discussion

sivab · Post by **sivab** » 24 Dec 2013 09:58

http://www.firstpost.com/world/eye-on-c ... 04027.html

Eye on China: Japanese PM to be chief guest at R-Day parade

Indian diplomacy is all set to turn a new leaf in the New Year with some out-of-the-box thinking. Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a known staunch friend of India and a China-baiter, would be the Chief Guest at India’s Republic Day Parade in 2014. It has been an unsaid, unspoken and unwritten policy of India to invite a foreign dignitary as chief guest at its Republic Day Parade in New Delhi, from a country which is normally seen as friendly or which is seen as worth pursuing at least in the hope that that country would be bowled over by the Indian gesture. That is why, leaders from countries such as Pakistan (Governor General Malik Ghulam Muhammad in 1955) and China (Marshall Ye Jianying in 1958) have been invited as Chief Guests at India’s R-Day parade. Even leaders from far-off countries like Mexico, Argentina and Peru and remote tiny dots on the world map like Trinidad and Tobago have been invited as Chief Guests at R-Day parade in New Delhi. It may be quite strange but it is true that a powerful, advanced Asian country like Japan, the world’s third largest economy, has never been bestowed this honour. This anomaly will be corrected on India’s 66th Republic Day and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will be the Chief Guest at the parade, an annual event that showcases India’s defence might as well as its cultural diversity. This is a welcome strategic move by India. It would send a strong message to India’s detractors, particularly China. Needless to say, China will be riled at the Indian move as it indicates the fast-changing international equations and even more so when China-Japan bilateral relations have sunk to a dramatic low in the past few years. Both India and Japan have been feeling the heat of China’s so-called “peaceful rise”. It has definitely been a rise but not a peaceful one. China’s latest move of imposing the Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea is one of the many provocations by the Chinese. Japan, South Korea and Philippines have aggressively refused to honour the ADIZ. Though India is not affected by the ADIZ and China has ruled out such a dispensation for India, New Delhi has its own problems with China -- stapled visas for Indians domiciled in Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh, presence of Chinese troops in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) among the few, apart from repeated Chinese incursions because of an unsettled boundary dispute. India’s highly commendable outreach to Japan and extending the privilege to the Japanese PM to be the Chief Guest at its Republic Day Parade in 2014 is born out of sheer pragmatism and strategic calculus. Japan is one Asian country with which India has had no dispute of any kind throughout the history – ideological, territorial or cultural. Few countries in the world enjoy such a great goodwill in India as Japan does. Of late, particularly in the last one decade, Japan has been the foreign engine of India’s infrastructural growth like no other foreign country has been. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is a proven and tested example of this while many more ambitious infrastructural projects like the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) are happening and likely to be completed in a few years time. No other country has contributed so meaningfully and immensely to India’s growth story in recent years as Japan has. India has the distinction of being the largest recipient of Japan’s Official Developmental Assistance (ODA) over the years.

Karan M · Post by **Karan M** » 24 Dec 2013 12:24

Finally some sense. We should have maskafied Japan ages ago, they have amongst the best semicon, FPD and other tech and getting them to set such facilities in India, transfer manufacturing eqpt would have been a huge step up, instead of running after Khan 24/7 and hoping for scraps off the high table.

JE Menon · Post by **JE Menon** » 24 Dec 2013 12:38

>> We should have maskafied Japan ages ago,

Perhaps but we are talking of a delay of a few years, not even a decade, maybe 5-7 - if we accept ge premise that we should have. Otherwise it would have been unduly skewed in their favour. It will probably still be in some respects, but much less so. Events have turned out faster in our favour than one would have thought, enabling our natural tendency towards inertia to be disrupted. Thanks to china.

But let's be clear. It's a confluence of pure interest, nothing more at this stage - mutual and rather grasping proclamations of historic affinities notwithstanding - and that's how it should be, for now.

Karan M · Post by **Karan M** » 24 Dec 2013 12:58

Its not a delay of a few years JEM.. but systemic of the problems that plague our economic and technology (mis) allocation.. Perhaps best noted after 2014.

While the engagement has continued on paper, and in public, with constant exercises/meetups etc, it like most Indian efforts lacks a firm sense of timebound achievement or for that matter a firm idea of what should India's core requirements be.

Plus, the amount of benefit we could have gone from working with Japan has been severely underestimated. A lot of the problem is that people who make these polices have little to no STEM or proper business backgrounds & are from generalist positions in GOI (animal husbandry one day, xyz the other day), so once the previous loyalists are chucked out, the next bunch who come don't have an understanding of what to do either & treat it as business as usual.

In contrast, the Chinese, South Koreans and even ROC, all understand the value Japanese technology still has, and have moved anything & everything to get access to it. When the Fukushima incident occurred, a lot of worldwide industries were on tenterhooks wondering what would happen to their worldwide production plans, since many critical parts of the hitech value chain are still dependent on Japan supplied items & raw materials. It also spoke volumes about the famed (and well deserved) rep for Japanese efficiency, that these firms got back up and running within a remarkably short period of time.

In terms of our own technology requirements, almost everything that we have hitherto ignored (in part due to GOI's chai-biscoot sessions going nowhere) have areas where the Japanese can contribute or assist, either directly or indirectly. We simply did not make enough of an effort to leverage that and missed out on the disruption a few years back, when Japanese firms were struggling with massive losses.

Japan is a big investor in many areas in India already - there are into smart cities/industrial corridors etc. But a lot more can and should be done.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 24 Dec 2013 12:59

sivab wrote:http://www.firstpost.com/world/eye-on-c ... 04027.html

Eye on China: Japanese PM to be chief guest at R-Day parade

Of late, particularly in the last one decade, Japan has been the foreign engine of India’s infrastructural growth like no other foreign country has been.

Very true indeed. That shows that they are in India for very long term. Everywhere in India where they want to develop their industrial clusters in a big way, they are first investing in infrastructure in a big way.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 24 Dec 2013 20:25

The recent increase in engagement is driven by them, not us. Or more accurately, it is driven by their economic compulsions, and PRC conducting general foreign policy with all the subtlety of chasing a mosquito with a sledgehammer. As PRC continues to drive Japanese defense development, the Japanese need income to drive defense spending. If they can't guarantee economic output to feed that spending, the alternative for them is to deploy some of their massive savings base into a large growing economy that isn't dependent on or controlled by China and generates steady returns... which in this case is us.

anupmisra · Post by **anupmisra** » 24 Dec 2013 21:59

Suraj wrote:The recent increase in engagement is driven by them, not us. Or more accurately, it is driven by their economic compulsions, and PRC conducting general foreign policy with all the subtlety of chasing a mosquito with a sledgehammer. As PRC continues to drive Japanese defense development, the Japanese need income to drive defense spending. If they can't guarantee economic output to feed that spending, the alternative for them is to deploy some of their massive savings base into a large growing economy that isn't dependent on or controlled by China and generates steady returns... which in this case is us.

Just want to confirm: Are you saying that India does not need Japan, whereas Japan needs India?

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 24 Dec 2013 22:09

No, I'm saying that. Whether or not we need them is not going to really matter unless they really need us. Right now, that's increasingly true, and I gave reasons that I believe drive their interest. India and Japan 'could have' had better ties long ago, but it has until recently remained lukewarm at best. Now all of a sudden we have the Emperor (who barely ever ventured out of Japan in the last half a decade) and now the PM visiting us. India has always been interested in Japanese capital and technology.

KrishnaK · Post by **KrishnaK** » 25 Dec 2013 00:09

JE Menon wrote:But let's be clear. It's a confluence of pure interest, nothing more at this stage - mutual and rather grasping proclamations of historic affinities notwithstanding - and that's how it should be, for now.

It is our job to ensure their interests are inexorably intertwined with ours, at least economically. And that it won't be easy to unravel or walk out of.

JE Menon · Post by **JE Menon** » 25 Dec 2013 15:54

Karan M, kindly read Suraj's posts above (in sequence) and then re-read mine in that context as Suraj summarises the strategic circumstance succinctly.

>>It is our job to ensure their interests are inexorably intertwined with ours

And theirs to ensure the reciprocal. It is only then that it will become hard to unravel. They have as much to benefit from us as we do from them, over time.

RSoami · Post by **RSoami** » 25 Dec 2013 16:07

If the Japanese invest big in India and get benefits out of it, Europeans and Americans will have to do the same to compete. Its important that government of India does encourage the Japanese and cultivate the economic ties between the two countries. This could eventually get really big, if we play our cards correctly. Economic and political. Home and abroad.

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 25 Dec 2013 17:53

India nand Japan have been friends for very long time despite many ups and downs and Japan's refusal to support India on NSG earlier and toeing American line in International diplomacy. But then US was not this close to China as it was to Taiwan. Now it has become imperative for Japan to find solid basis for other issues as well. China is one such factor propelling both countries closer. Another point is that economic growth in Japan has stagnated for almost 40 years. It needs to find new avenues to invest and grow. So India is in better place to attract investment.

One of the issue they should sort out is Visa free travel for Indian and Japanese. This will spur people to people contact even more. Japan should seriously look at this as facilitator of better relations.

member_28336 · Post by **member_28336** » 25 Dec 2013 23:29

There are several things Indian government can do to improve Indo-Japan trade and bilateral relations. The first thing India desperately needs is to close the fast widening technological and infrastructure gap between India and economically developed world (including China).

We should have in-depth discussions with Japanese industry and identify top 5 areas for investment such as railways (bullet train, etc), satellite, space and defense related technologies (amphibious planes, ships, etc) and electronics and with an aggressive speed ruthlessly cut down red tape and make for efficient clearing of projects for Japanese companies that are win-win for both parties.

We should set up the SEZ route to save Japanese industry from wasting time and other hurdles such as land and other local red-tape. India can well become a safe manufacturing base for Japanese and South Korean electronic companies, but with current cost of land and unreliable power and poor port infrastructure it is not financially viable for those companies. We need to act on it with a do or die mentality as with every passing day the gap widens in those areas. We should provide subsidized captive power, lease government owned land, dedicated rail links and dedicated port infrastructure for these SEZs to operate in a viable manner compared to Taiwan or Chinese electronic manufacturing facilities.

Chinese are world leaders in efficient port construction and management now and we should help take their help to improve our port related infrastructure while maintaining that our security is not compromised.

Karan M · Post by **Karan M** » 26 Dec 2013 00:42

JE Menon wrote:Karan M, kindly read Suraj's posts above (in sequence) and then re-read mine in that context as Suraj summarises the strategic circumstance succinctly.

>>It is our job to ensure their interests are inexorably intertwined with ours

And theirs to ensure the reciprocal. It is only then that it will become hard to unravel. They have as much to benefit from us as we do from them, over time.

Ah, I did - the point I was making was that even in terms of a transactional relationship, we simply did not push hard enough on some projects and programs. I am speaking from the point of view of those who made such efforts (and not just Japan) and simply gave up when faced with the glacial pace of our bureaucracy, which neither appreciated nor understood the rationale for moving fast, with some states being (positive) different. Eitherways, with a change in 2014 likely, lets hope that things happen in a more coordinated fashion.

---
Edited for sticky fingers, bad grammar and repeated misspellings.

Karan M · Post by **Karan M** » 26 Dec 2013 00:53

RSoami wrote:If the Japanese invest big in India and get benefits out of it, Europeans and Americans will have to do the same to compete. Its important that government of India does encourage the Japanese and cultivate the economic ties between the two countries. This could eventually get really big, if we play our cards correctly. Economic and political. Home and abroad.

What is oft forgotten is that big changes require huge political capital, substantial changes to existing processes, work against existing inertia and are hence very hard to achieve. But hitting the singles non stop, day in and night out, via a business friendly bureaucracy and an adept establishment, is what makes the difference, since the latter ends up achieving much of the above and it often goes under the radar. Chinese firms scour Europe/Asia for technology and IP, aided logistically and financially supported, by the PRC Govt. Even as big ticket agreements may or may not come through, the flow of technology, state of the art manufacturing back to the "homeland" proceeds unimpeded, even as bureaucrats/govt work together to make the foreign partner look at China as something that is critical to its success. National policies, each iterative, ensure that to access the market, significant local production is a given. Or specific interventions ensure that critical partners get a very favorable response to their efforts. In turn, these companies then lobby hard with their respective national govts to either change policy, or look the other way to ensure commerce goes on unimpeded. Sadly, in India, its much the reverse, with almost everything being caught up in redtape and even what is colloquially referred to as "rent seeking behaviour". Some state govts (TN, Gujarat f.e.) are notable exceptions and lobby hard, but the absence of a central "directive" to assiduously court specific firms, specific kinds of sectors, with time bound action plans and local accountability has been a big downer. Plans and projections apart, execution has been severely lacking.

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 26 Dec 2013 00:56

Suraj wrote:No, I'm saying that. Whether or not we need them is not going to really matter unless they really need us. Right now, that's increasingly true, and I gave reasons that I believe drive their interest. India and Japan 'could have' had better ties long ago, but it has until recently remained lukewarm at best. Now all of a sudden we have the Emperor (who barely ever ventured out of Japan in the last half a decade) and now the PM visiting us. India has always been interested in Japanese capital and technology.

In the decades earlier Japan was part of the cold war orbit of US camp and it had its own interest to align with those powers. Now China has become the most important item in Japan problem and US camp is not providing much relief to Japan. This is the reality under which Japan is approaching India.

There is now a common interest between Japan and India and it is becoming urgent at the moment.

Neshant · Post by **Neshant** » 26 Dec 2013 01:08

Start proposing joint space and defense r&d with them.

Unless a proactive policy is taken and India starts making unsolicited proposals, nothing is going to happen.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 26 Dec 2013 02:22

chaanakya wrote:One of the issue they should sort out is Visa free travel for Indian and Japanese. This will spur people to people contact even more. Japan should seriously look at this as facilitator of better relations.

Japanese have visa-on-arrival in India. I had to read up on that requirement, because HQ had to use it. They have perhaps the best passport in the world for visa free or v-o-a travel anyway - no visa or v-o-a for India, PRC, ASEAN, A-NZ, all of western Europe and north America. Hard to beat that. Indians need a visa to enter Japan, but their fee is relatively miniscule, at $10. It would be very nice if they changed that to something like what the Thais have - 15 day entry. India currently has such visa-free access to Hong Kong, so Japan granting it is not a stretch.

It's true that the Japanese wish for ease of deployment of capital in India. We have not made that easy, for anyone. Take the POSCO project for example - it was supposed to have started phase 1 by around now, but it's nowhere close. Their lack of interest in this regard was driven by the availability of choices. PRC was an easy place to invest in, as is the rest of SE Asia. Now PRC is no longer very attractive, SoKo is expensive, ASEAN still competitive but costlier. On the other hand we have not improved competitively, and will not do so unless we have an effective business-focussed administration. We have to play our cards right. The kind of policymaking we demonstrated in the last decade will absolutely not help.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 26 Dec 2013 07:56

Acharya wrote:In the decades earlier Japan was part of the cold war orbit of US camp and it had its own interest to align with those powers. Now China has become the most important item in Japan problem and US camp is not providing much relief to Japan. This is the reality under which Japan is approaching India.

There is now a common interest between Japan and India and it is becoming urgent at the moment.

Correct assessment. In fact, the US itself is seeking Indian alliance to check a rampaging China and it makes sense for the Japanese to do the same too. In fact, the whole of ASEAN wants to have close cooperation with India due to the China issue, apart, of course, for various other reasons too. One more factor is also that the Japanese would like to diversify their huge investments in China as a hedge and there is no other better country than India for the same. Besides, the Japanese could have done much better in the Indian market with their products but they have not done enough except for a few like Toyota, Suzuki etc. They have a huge market beckoning them even in SME. The Japanese have, by now, had decades of experience in India and have understood the glacial speed of our country's decision making prowess. They are trying to change us wherever they can like in infrastructure through loans, grants, and investments for their own benefit.

India must act speedily, diligently and with foresight to grab the opportunity thorughout South-East and East Asia. The more China behaves madly, the more the opportunities for us.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 26 Dec 2013 07:57

Japanese PM Shinzo Abe just visited Yasukuni Shrine today.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 26 Dec 2013 08:06

I had posted an appreciation of India-Japan relationship early January this year.

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 26 Dec 2013 08:19

SSridhar wrote:
Acharya wrote:In the decades earlier Japan was part of the cold war orbit of US camp and it had its own interest to align with those powers. Now China has become the most important item in Japan problem and US camp is not providing much relief to Japan. This is the reality under which Japan is approaching India.

There is now a common interest between Japan and India and it is becoming urgent at the moment.
Correct assessment. In fact, the US itself is seeking Indian alliance to check a rampaging China and it makes sense for the Japanese to do the same too.

US is different in its purpose of alliance with India. Its policy is of pivot in Asia since its geopolitical objective is whole of Asia.
But Japan and India have a neighbour problem who has large trade with rest of the world

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 26 Dec 2013 09:21

Acharya wrote:US is different in its purpose of alliance with India. Its policy is of pivot in Asia since its geopolitical objective is whole of Asia. But Japan and India have a neighbour problem who has large trade with rest of the world

Of course, the US pivot in Asia is largely if not entirely directed against PRC and nobody else. The US has no other threat in Asia. politically, militarily and economically, than PRC. Japan, Australia & South Korea are allies where there is even American military presence. North Korea, is by no means a direct threat to the US and can be contained easily through other means even when needed. Russia is the only other country that provides some challenge to the US but again not much unlike the USSR days. Russia also has serious issues with China and vice versa. India is a close partner, even if not yet an ally. Pakistan is always pliable through suitable blandishments and is under a lot of US control even if China exercises enormous influence over it. The ASEAN countries, except Laos perhaps, are strong American allies or are increasingly coming under its sphere as in the case of Myanmar. So, the Asian Pivot is to contain China. It may also be directed against India at a suitable later date but that is far away and the US probably has a lot of levers to use against India [like heaping indignities on Indian diplomats etc] before going that far. I have always held the belief that the US learnt a lesson from its China liaison in the 70s and 80s and the lesson is that while using a country for its interests, it should keep a tight leash on it so that doesn't become a threat to itself later on. Like that of Basmasura.

Of course, I am not saying that China is the sole or even major reason for increased US dalliance with India. Far from that.

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 26 Dec 2013 09:29

SSridhar wrote:
Acharya wrote:US is different in its purpose of alliance with India. Its policy is of pivot in Asia since its geopolitical objective is whole of Asia. But Japan and India have a neighbour problem who has large trade with rest of the world
Of course, the US pivot in Asia is largely if not entirely directed against PRC and nobody else. The US has no other threat in Asia. politically, militarily and economically, than PRC.
India is a close partner, even if not yet an ally.
So, the Asian Pivot is to contain China. It may also be directed against India at a suitable later date but that is far away and the US probably has a lot of levers to use against India

It is not as simple. This Asian pivot is quite sophisticated. TO china it may seem that it is encircled with this policy.
But the real target of the US may be something else. In the global order it may change the world order and may bring in total hegemony. It all depends on China and its relations with India and Russia.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 26 Dec 2013 09:44

Acharya wrote:It is not as simple. This Asian pivot is quite sophisticated. TO china it may seem that it is encircled with this policy.But the real target of the US may be something else. In the global order it may change the world order and may bring in total hegemony. It all depends on China and its relations with India and Russia.

We all know what the ultimate goal of the USA in the rapidly changing multi-polar world. It wants to re-establsih its dwindling hegemonic position. We also know that as a true purveyor of playing realpoitik, the US goes to any extent to protect, establish and nurture its interests. These are axiomatic.

Now, certainly the only threat to its ambition is China, not only in Asia but throughout the world.

JwalaMukhi · Post by **JwalaMukhi** » 26 Dec 2013 21:24

http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0000898931

“It is important to show our veneration for those who gave their precious lives to the nation,” said Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida during a press conference after the Cabinet meeting on Thursday morning. “Visiting Yasukuni Shrine is a matter of personal emotions. We should avoid making it into an issue of politics or diplomacy.”

Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera told reporters at a press conference: “The trilateral relationship between Japan, the United Sates and South Korea is important. We will make our utmost efforts to keep cooperative ties and exchanges of opinions between the defense authorities of Japan, the United States and South Korea.”

Not very different from advising Indians to refrain and excercise patience with pakis...
China must be doing something exactly like pakis to extract concessions.

The U.S. government has often asked the Japanese government to urge Abe to refrain from visiting the shrine, saying the visit may raise tensions in East Asia. This is apparently because Washington believes cooperation with Japan and South Korea is indispensable amid increasing military threats by China and North Korea.

During their visit to Japan in October, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel went to the Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery for the war dead and offered flowers. Some observers say they indicated to Abe that he should not visit Yasukuni Shrine.

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 26 Dec 2013 23:01

Suraj wrote:
chaanakya wrote:One of the issue they should sort out is Visa free travel for Indian and Japanese. This will spur people to people contact even more. Japan should seriously look at this as facilitator of better relations.
Japanese have visa-on-arrival in India. I had to read up on that requirement, because HQ had to use it. They have perhaps the best passport in the world for visa free or v-o-a travel anyway - no visa or v-o-a for India, PRC, ASEAN, A-NZ, all of western Europe and north America. Hard to beat that. Indians need a visa to enter Japan, but their fee is relatively miniscule, at $10. It would be very nice if they changed that to something like what the Thais have - 15 day entry. India currently has such visa-free access to Hong Kong, so Japan granting it is not a stretch.

It's true that the Japanese wish for ease of deployment of capital in India. We have not made that easy, for anyone. Take the POSCO project for example - it was supposed to have started phase 1 by around now, but it's nowhere close. Their lack of interest in this regard was driven by the availability of choices. PRC was an easy place to invest in, as is the rest of SE Asia. Now PRC is no longer very attractive, SoKo is expensive, ASEAN still competitive but costlier. On the other hand we have not improved competitively, and will not do so unless we have an effective business-focussed administration. We have to play our cards right. The kind of policymaking we demonstrated in the last decade will absolutely not help.

Well they did not charge any Visa fee for me. Waived it. They do have VOA in India but not extended to Indians visiting Japan. Need to change that and ask for VOA for Indians.HongKong was easiest. Had stopover of 8-9 hrs and went to whirlwind tour of HK.

Our implementation of Policy, no doubt, sucks. We need to cut down a lot of flab.

KrishnaK · Post by **KrishnaK** » 26 Dec 2013 23:27

JE Menon wrote:>>It is our job to ensure their interests are inexorably intertwined with ours

And theirs to ensure the reciprocal. It is only then that it will become hard to unravel. They have as much to benefit from us as we do from them, over time.

Agreed. I was trying to convey the exact same thing, with a slightly different emphasis. The Japanese might put up with our inability to move fast because they want alternatives to China, we can't afford to rely on that forever. It is indeed our job to make India the most attractive place for their investment, even without the China factor entering the picture. They can only hope and egg us towards that.

KrishnaK · Post by **KrishnaK** » 26 Dec 2013 23:33

SSridhar wrote:It may also be directed against India at a suitable later date but that is far away and the US probably has a lot of levers to use against India [like heaping indignities on Indian diplomats etc] before going that far.

It is far far harder to get an alliance going against India, the way they have one going against China. India is not seen a threatening country in the same vein as China, even in our own neighbourhood. Pakistan here would be the sole exception IMO. But like you said, even if one were forthcoming, it would be a looong way off.

prahaar · Post by **prahaar** » 27 Dec 2013 00:09

At least the actions taken by Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka do not support your contention w.r.t our neighborhood Krishnaji. Unkil's hand would be grasped as soon as India is seen to be consolidating.

KrishnaK · Post by **KrishnaK** » 27 Dec 2013 03:23

prahaar wrote:At least the actions taken by Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka do not support your contention w.r.t our neighborhood Krishnaji. Unkil's hand would be grasped as soon as India is seen to be consolidating.

Which actions ? Offering ports to China, buying submarines from them ? Those actions represent increasing their options against a gigantic neighbour. Even getting back at big brother. They're not our allies. None of those countries are arming themselves to fight us, grab our land, try to blow up our parliament. Harbouring secessionists is the worst they've done. They'll gladly accept what anybody is giving them, but will not enter into any plans to confront India, even if they could. Bangladesh is the most capable in terms of population amongst those three. It has 1/2 the GDP of Pakistan. What military capabilities has it built up against us compared to Pakistan ? That will show you who thinks of us as the enemy and who doesn't. Don't confuse dislike for enmity.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 31 Dec 2013 19:33

Japan to Support Road Network expansion in Asia - Japan Times

The government is planning to help improve transport connectivity in South and Southeast Asia by renovating existing roads and building new ones, sources familiar with the matter said Monday.

The infrastructure support plan, aimed at strengthening economic ties within regions including India and Myanmar, is Japan’s answer to Chinese-led projects launched to link southern China and South Asia by road and rail.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency will be responsible for drawing up the financing and construction plans. It will invite officials from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Thailand to New Delhi in mid-January to brief them on site surveys, the sources said.

Japan expects to confirm a plan with India to proceed with road-building projects in January when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visits the country, they said.

The Japanese projects are expected to improve road connectivity between Bangladesh, India, Myanmar and Thailand while giving Bhutan and Nepal better access to coastal areas.

Aging road infrastructure and constraints on its capacity and efficiency have become trade barriers between the countries. The economies of Bangladesh, India and Myanmar, for instance, would benefit from new roads in areas where the land transport infrastructure is underdeveloped or inefficient.

Japanese companies in the regions are also likely to profit from improved connectivity because it would improve their supply chains.

But such infrastructure development may not immediately lead to improved trade between countries with unresolved diplomatic issues.

Bangladesh, for instance, has limited cross-border trade with India and Myanmar due to diplomatic constraints.

prahaar · Post by **prahaar** » 31 Dec 2013 19:56

KrishnaK wrote:
prahaar wrote:At least the actions taken by Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka do not support your contention w.r.t our neighborhood Krishnaji. Unkil's hand would be grasped as soon as India is seen to be consolidating.
Which actions ? Offering ports to China, buying submarines from them ? Those actions represent increasing their options against a gigantic neighbour. Even getting back at big brother. They're not our allies. None of those countries are arming themselves to fight us, grab our land, try to blow up our parliament. Harbouring secessionists is the worst they've done. They'll gladly accept what anybody is giving them, but will not enter into any plans to confront India, even if they could. Bangladesh is the most capable in terms of population amongst those three. It has 1/2 the GDP of Pakistan. What military capabilities has it built up against us compared to Pakistan ? That will show you who thinks of us as the enemy and who doesn't. Don't confuse dislike for enmity.

Do you believe Bangladesh is buying submarines to fight against Pakistan? Bangladesh IS trying to grab our land, the modes are different than China and Pakistan. Bangladesh is encouraging demographic invasion AND harboring secessionists. Both are major security threats. If you consider these are "mere" there is nothing more to add in this debate. Should we wait until Bangladesh has 2 submarines messing up in BoB, half a million army next to chicken's neck?

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 03 Jan 2014 03:07

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-25566868
Japan's population falls 'by record 244,000' in 2013

Japan's population declined by a record 244,000 people in 2013, according to health ministry estimates.The ministry said an estimated 1,031,000 babies were born last year - down some 6,000 from the previous year.Meanwhile, the number of people that died last year was 1,275,000 - a rise of around 19,000 from 2012.Japan's population has been shrinking for several years now. If current trends persist it will lose a third of its population in the next 50 years.A quarter of the population is currently aged over 65 and that figure is expected to reach nearly 40% by 2060.The government says the population totalled 126,393,679 as of 31 March - down 0.2% from a year earlier. Japan has taken aggressive measures in recent months to spur growth in the world's third-biggest economy, after years of stagnation.The government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is trying to boost the economy through a combination of quantitative easing and cash injections, higher taxes, higher government spending and longer-term structural reforms.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 05 Jan 2014 18:03

India-Japan defence Ministers Meet Tomorrow - ToI

Ways to strengthen military ties and sale of Japanese amphibious aircraft to Indian Armed forces are expected to be discussed during the meeting of the defence ministers of the two countries here on Monday.

The two countries are also expected to discuss the regional security scenario during the meeting between defence minister AK Antony and his Japanese counterpart Itsunori Onodera against the backdrop of the recent tensions between Japan and China on East China Sea issue, defence ministry officials said.

Onodera is on a four-day visit to India and is expected to meet the top political and military leadership of the country to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral military ties, they said.

During the discussions, the Japanese side is also expected to raise the issue of sale of Japanese US-2 amphibious aircraft to the Indian Armed forces to guard their island territories.

India and Japan are also expected to regularise maritime cooperation and hold joint exercises.

Last month, the Japanese and Indian Navy held joint exercises in the Bay of Bengal after the maiden exercise was held off the coast of Tokyo in 2012.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is also expected to visit India later this month.

Japan is planning to enter into a deal for jointly producing engines for tanks with Turkey. India should go in for such a deal too.

Klaus · Post by **Klaus** » 06 Jan 2014 03:22

Have there been any updates on Japanese Navy's plans to build a naval base near Djibouti to tackle Somali piracy?

Depending upon the endurance, the US-2 could be used for ASW and a Medium Range Marine Patrol aircraft, wonder whether Indians will be allowed to change the avionics and other suites required for the same.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 06 Jan 2014 07:15

Klaus wrote: . . . wonder whether Indians will be allowed to change the avionics and other suites required for the same.

In fact, these are the issues being ironed out. I hope that today's meeting finalizes the deal.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 06 Jan 2014 09:04

A Superstar Fan All the Way from Tokyo - The Hindu

At the recent world debating championship event [in Chennai], Saito Murato, a 29-year-old philosophy student from Tokyo, wanted to know where one would get original DVDs of Rajinikanth movies.

“I have seen at least four of his movies but all dubbed in Japanese. I want the Tamil ones.” Saito remembers having seen ‘Chandramukhi’ and ‘Muthu’ when he was young, and says he was fascinated by the star. “I love the way he dresses and talks. With bad people he is really bad, but with family, especially his mother, he is very respectful.”

Prasad · Post by **Prasad** » 06 Jan 2014 09:29

Nallavanukku nallavan, kettavanukku kettavan in English
Oh my gawd!

pankajs · Post by **pankajs** » 07 Jan 2014 02:10

India’s Republic Day invite to Japan’s Shinzo Abe seen as ‘epic signal’

India’s gesture of inviting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to be the chief guest at the country’s 65th Republic Day celebrations later this month is “an epic signal” of the strengthening of India-Japan bilateral ties, a key Japanese politician said Monday.

Natsuo Yamaguchi, who heads the New Komeito Party, the junior coalition partner of Abe’s ruling Liberal-Democratic Party, made the comment when asked about the Japanese Prime Minister’s proposed visit to India for the 26 January ceremony.