India & Japan

India remains uncertain about the resumption of its own negotiations for civil nuclear cooperation with Tokyo. Ahead of Japanese PM Yoshihiko Noda’s visit to India on Tuesday for the 6th annual India-Japan summit, officials said the issue would be taken up in Noda’s meeting with his counterpart Manmohan Singh. India had held three rounds of negotiations with Japan for civil nuclear cooperation but these were suspended after the Fukushima disaster. The last time India and Japan held discussions for civil nuclear agreement was in November, 2010. India-Japan civil nuclear cooperation is important also for the US as it would lift nuclear and high-tech export controls and enable major US suppliers like GE and Westinghouse, who have either Japanese owners or partners, to carry out nuclear commerce with India. In December, Diet approved bilateral agreements for civil nuclear cooperation with four countries – Russia,South Korea, China and Vietnam. While this is being looked upon a positive sign, there are still doubts over whether this would translate into renewal of negotiations with India, a non-NPT signatory. The Japanese would critically examine whether India had fulfilled all its commitments made before NSG in September, 2008, that helped it acquire a waiver for carrying out nuclear commerce. Indian officials are hoping that Noda’s enthusiasm, despite public criticism, in overturning his predecessor Naoto Kan's policy to discourage nuclear exports after Fukushima would also translate into renewal of civil nuclear talks with New Delhi. Japanese foreign minister Koichiro Gemba said in a statement before the foreign affairs committee of Diet’s House of Representatives that Japan was also looking at finalizing similar agreements with India and four other countries — Brazil, South Africa, Turkey and UAE.