New Delhi: Indian relations with Japan have been commendable over time. Founded on premises of trust and a common heritage of Buddhist ideologies, these relations extend to strong people-to-people bonds and goes beyond merely being economic relations. The relations reflect in the form of multilateral cooperation and even widening scope of bilateral alliance between the nations.
The historical relations between the nations carry extreme strategic significance and have been pacing ahead with exemplary diplomacy. Having received Japan’s financial and technological assistance, India has established several metro corridors, which recently completed 20 years of establishment.
The 20th anniversary of the metro is symbolic of Indian-Japanese relations, which now can be identified as a strong strategic partnership, a burgeoning business collaboration which is culturally connected and a strategic geopolitical alliance.Â
Simultaneously, India and Japan have collaborated for manufacturing India’s first-ever bullet train, which is anticipated to kick off the tracks by 2027.
The Japanese Ambassador to India, Hiroshi Suzuki, states: the Japanese team and Indian team work closely together. And in my perspective, this is already a revolution underway. Japan and India enjoy special and a partnership, which is both strategic and global. So we are cooperating in many significant aspects such as defence and security. The international forum we are closely cooperating with UN Security Council.
Further, the imbalances in trade are being diminished, with an increase in Indian exports to Japan each year, which primarily includes petroleum products, chemicals and elements.
As per the figures from the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, the bilateral trade between India and Japan for the financial year 2021-22 stood at USD 20.57 billion. While India’s exports to Japan amounted to USD 6.18 billion, and India’s imports from Japan stood at USD 14.39 billion.
While his last visit to India, Japanese PM Fumio Kishida announced a USD 42 billion in the next five years. As per the experts, the Japanese power corridors consider India to be one of the most reliable partners in the world.
The 14 bilateral premier-level summits and the continued flow of people and tech, and strategies against global threats have drawn the attention of observers around the world. The countries follow their own suits for tackling global issues without letting the differences affect the relations.
Indian-Japanese relations have become increasingly important as the countries move ahead for the political and military alliances, with first-ever joint air combat drills to be conducted next year. The countries are already conducting an annual naval exercise named ‘Malabar’, with the US. This is with the perspective to pre-empt and prepare for any upcoming crisis in the Indo-Pacific, especially from the Chinese campaigns.
India and Japan also form part of the Quadrilateral security dialogue, called Quad, which also includes the United States and Australia. Considering the geographic positioning, India and Japan have a strategic advantage against threats from China.
After its establishment in 1952, Indian-Japanese relations have recorded several heights. Japan and India. Other than trade and investment, the countries bond together for democratic and, pro-peace, pro-people outlooks in their domestic and foreign strategies.
The Indian-Japanese relations have been an example for the world, which symbolizes that a lot can be achieved with peaceful means and the Global Communities need to build alliances of a similar kind.
