India and the Land of the Rising Sun

In this article, former union minister, a noted economist and 7th Vice-Chancellor of JNU, Yoginder Alagh throws light on India-Japan relations and explains how the forthcoming bilateral meeting between India and Japan at Guwahati has some significance, both from the national security and the economic revival angle.

Hyderabad:The forthcoming bilateral meeting between India and Japan at Guwahati has some significance, both from the national security and the economic revival angle.

India’s membership in the G20 and role as a Permanent Invitee to the G8, give it leverage in its globalising economy.

The G8 role was championed by Canada and strangely Dr Manmohan Singh’s Government did not show much interest in it. But Japan supported the idea and it gives us an advantage.

Their reticence in joining the RCEP, if we are not there, comes from that. More recently John Kirton of the G8 Institute in Toronto has highlighted this role.

In the original proposal, John English who was Premier Trudeau’s biographer has highlighted India and China’s role on the high table, based on an invited paper I wrote on Sherpa’s and Coolies arguing that India is interested only if its economic concerns are on the High Table.

The strategic backdrop will be underlying the Guwahati meeting.

We have serious economic interests with Japan, particularly in the present phase. Take our exports to Japan, instead of the foreign office making noise on unbalanced trade we must carve out a role in their food and raw material imports, for it is a resource-scarce economy in relation to its economic levels and growth.

For example, we export rice and Japan is a major importer of rice. It subsidises its domestic producers by around thirty thousand rupees a quintal.

Read:China aims to build its own Yellowstone on Tibetan plateau

The Japanese consume sticky rice. Our scientists can easily produce the Super Rice Seeds for the Japonica varieties and we can set aside, say half a million acres for it if we negotiate long term contracts with them.

They will politely listen to lectures on balanced trade but jump at Business proposals. Many more such ideas are possible. Remember unlike the abolition of the Planning Commission by us, it still has Strategic Planning institutions like MITI.

The one characteristic of Japanese functioning is an efficient time-saving action. This can be very useful to us when our economy is on a downslide.

The World Bank and other aid agencies take interminable time before Project approval. My personal experience with Japan as Vice-Chair of the Narmada Planning Group and on STPs as Power Minister was speed in decision making.

They will send an expert(s), take a view and start implementation. With investment rates going down quarter after quarter, that is what we need.

In the whole area of water and power, joint projects with Japan will provide the investment boost, we need.

One of my favourite dreams is a Water knowledge Global State of the art Center at Kevadia, The Sardar I am sure would love that in addition to his SOU.

The Japanese I am sure would fund that and it would become a training centre for the Third World.

We must implement the Shinkai Sen or bullet train between Ahmedabad and Mumbai.

The Japanese are very sensitive on cutting trees and I am sure can help the new Government of Maharashtra to get over its problems.

They have a long history of accommodating even a single Japanese protester. There is nothing which stops us from arranging one to one meetings of CM Thackeray with them.

The moral of the story is to be well prepared with the Japanese, give fewer lectures and present more practical ideas. Since they believe in strategic planning, a strategically planned approach by us would help.

From this thought, we can consider the idea that there should be more cultural exchanges between India and Japan.

Read:EU envoy bats for restoration of rights in Kashmir, Indo-Pak Dialogue

They are like us - a multi-religious country. The traditional Shinto religion, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam are all there.

The oldest temple in Lara, outside Kyoto, is of Hindu icons. Outside India, the heroes and villains of the Epics get confused. But in the Ginza, in the theatre, the old man to clinch an argument says, I consulted the wise books from India, But now I believe we must learn from them.

Japanese Buddhists in a feast serve vegetarian food shaped like non Veg dishes. We do need to hold on to our dearest beliefs, but also assimilate.

Every year Japan selects a few persons across the globe and gives them a Japan Foundation Fellowship.

They can go to Japan for six months. I was selected once and spent a month there (the minimum period).

A lady from a noble family is your escort through Japan in its cultural space. I have been to Japan many times, but this was a deep dive.

We do need a cultural exchange with Japan through civil society for our own sanity. Perhaps the only thing we can avoid is corruption in politics.

Even there the present PM is a break with the past.