#IndiaJapanAt70 - New Era Of India-Japan Relations by Dr. Rabinder Malik

Session by Dr. Rabinder Malik
President of Discover India Club (DIC)
A distinguished scholar, diplomat, educator, and musician

Feb 18, 2022 04:00 PM IST

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The centuries-old spiritual connections between India and Japan began in the 6th century when Buddha’s message of compassion reached the shores of Japan via China.  The cultural links between the two countries were further renewed after the Meiji Restoration through contacts and friendship between Indian and Japanese scholars.  Also, after Meiji Restoration, the trade between India and Japan began to flourish following the arrival of the first Indian traders in Japan.  The City of Yokohama has enjoyed a long history of friendly relations with India, and the first Japanese Consulate in India was set up in 1896 in Mumbai (then called Bombay).  The Japan-India Association has been in operation in Japan for the last 119 years.

After the Pacific War, Justice Radhabinod Pal’s courageous dissenting opinion at the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in Tokyo, and the donation in 1949 by the Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru of a baby elephant to Ueno Zoo in Tokyo for the enjoyment of Japanese children, gave a friendly impression about the people of India to the war-stricken and desolate Japanese after the end of the Pacific War. In 1952, India and Japan signed a bilateral treaty of friendship.

In recent years, Japan-India relations have undergone a significant and qualitative shift. The Japan-India comprehensive economic partnership agreement signed in 2011 has opened up new opportunities in the bilateral economic engagement. There has been a remarkable increase in business collaboration between Japan and India.

The Government in India under Prime Minister Modi has set an ambitious agenda for the socio-economic growth of the country, and many of the priority areas that have been identified such as infrastructure, manufacturing, smart cities and others are areas in which Japan has the expertise and technology.  Japan has provided consistent support for the development of the Indian economy and is deeply involved in India’s infrastructural development.

It is believed that enhanced people-to-people contacts between Japan and India would provide a strong foundation for long-term, mutually beneficial bilateral relations. The Embassy of India in Japan and the Japan-India Association has been making efforts to promote a better understanding about India among the people of Japan.  In 2013, some of the members of the Japan-India Association got together and set up the “Discover India Club” (DIC), which has been organizing events, both in Japan and India, to develop more interpersonal and cultural contacts between the peoples of our two countries.

The strong bilateral ties between Japan and India now also encompass converging political and strategic interests, and will not only be beneficial for our two countries but will also contribute towards long-term regional and global prosperity and stability in the 21st century.

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