Modi in Japan: New beginnings expected!

August 31, 2014

Modi has a close relation with Japan which he has developed over the years . PM has been careful and thoughtful enough to give special attention to details keeping his words of maintaining significant ties with Tokyo. The PMs will nurture strong civilizational links between the cultures before embarking on the strategic agenda. Both sides know and acknowledge the importance of this partnership amidst the changing political and economic dimensions in Asia. The emerging threats faced by both the nations can be strongly tackled together as they both seek bigger roles for India and Japan in future world order. PM Abe has shown special courtesies to the guest PM by specially flying from Tokyo to Kyoto to receive him and hosting a private dinner in his grace. This is seen to be done to overcome the disappointment expressed by Tokyo when Modi had cancelled his visit to the island nation. Both the PMs are making all efforts to renew the historic Buddhist bonds shared by the nations. PM Modi presented his Japanese counterpart a special book entitled “Swami Vivekananda and Japan” and a copy of “Bhagwad Gita”.

The Future agenda:

• Both the nations are grappling with deep national security bureaucracies and thus need to carve out and lay the foundations of a robust nuclear partnership which will stay the test of time.
• The economic frontier is more skewed towards Indian side as PM Modi has to present a strong case to seek maximum Japanese participation to boost the development of the nation. This will involve high-speed trains and tracks, sophisticated infrastructure, smart cities and the mammoth task of cleaning the River Ganga.
• A sister partnership for modernization and development of smart cities in India.
• As Modi is highly popular and has come to power with a huge mandate, PM Abe has also proved his mettle by turning around the Japanese economy from the dungeons of recession. So the expectations double as both the heads meet who enjoy massive support base at home.

Present Political trends and winds:

• Japanese stature in the Asian continent has been quite high especially after the military alliance with US. This has however been considerably undermined due to the rise of Chinese military prowess and the flaring up of South China Sea dispute. Tokyo is now trying to secure its position in the region by pushing more security alignments. It has developed stronger ties wth Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Australia and India. China has taken serious view of the new aggressive policies of Abe and has accused Japan of trying to turn the post-War order in Asia, detrimental to its interests. Rise of Modi in India is also being seen in positive light as the foreign nations expect responsible decisions from him which will help foster regional balances and ties. Individually both Japan and China have contributed tremendously in the regional growth on all fronts. Modi has to keep a neutral stance which has been India’s strongest weapon in times of the 2 deadly wars which had ripped the world apart.

Varanasi-Kyoto Heritage Pact signed:

In a first major breakthrough, PM Modi and Shinzo Abe the cultural agreement to develop and modernize Varanasi on the lines of Kyoto has been signed over the weekend, as per the agenda. Kyoto exactly defines the type of world-class city which Mr.Modi wants to replicate in Varanasi. The pact will spread on cooperation on various peripherals like heritage conservation, modernization and cultural maintenance.

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