Japan and India sign bullet train, nuclear deals

Japan has recently lifted its post-world war ban on military exports.

In India on Saturday, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in principle on concluding a civil nuclear cooperation pact, saying the deal will be signed after technical details are finalized.

The two leaders also reaffirmed commitment to continue discussions to deepen bilateral defence relationship including through two-way collaboration and technology cooperation, co-development and co-production.

Mr Kawamura said both Japan and India will work together for a world without nuclear weapons. Praising Modi’s reforms agenda, the Japanese premier said, “Prime Minister Modi’s speed of implementing policies and reforms is like Shinkansen (bullet train) and his reform agenda is as safe as Shinkansen“.

“We greatly appreciate Prime Minister Abe’s extraordinary package of approximately $12 billion and technical assistance, on very easy terms, for this project”, the Indian prime minister said.

The high point of the new strategic and military realignment is Japan’s formal entry into the India-U.S. Malabar bilateral maritime exercises, turning it into a trilateral initiative aimed at ensuring peace, security and freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific region.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (L) at the signing ceremony, in New Delhi on Saturday. “He has been prompt and positive on our economic proposals many of which are now unique to India”, Modi told the media.

A nuclear deal with Japan – the only country that experienced the devastation by atomic bombs – is also important for India, as it would be yet another sign of global acknowledgement of the impeccable non-proliferation record of India.

India’s dream of high-speed trains zipping along the country will be fulfilled.

-A son of legendary Shehnai player late Ustad Bismillah Khan will be performing today at a cultural event in Varanasi to welcome Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Modi said India will extend to the Japanese people visa on arrival from March 1 next year.

Along with the rail agreement, Modi and Abe signed agreements on nuclear energy cooperation and defense equipment transfers. “It’s also a statement for Modi that India is modernizing”.

Abe expressed Japan’s intention to provide ODA loans for the improvement of road network connectivity in northeastern states of India, the peripheral ring road surrounding Bengaluru, and the horticulture irrigation in Jharkhand.

“This would not have been accomplished by any other leader”, he said. They called for an immediate commencement and early conclusion of negotiations on a non-discriminatory, multilateral and internationally and effectively verifiable Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT) on the basis of Shannon Mandate.

Modi said that the Indian government would actively consider all the recommendations of the Forum.

They also supported the strengthening of worldwide cooperation to address the challenges of nuclear proliferation and nuclear terrorism.

Regarding reprocessing, Jaishanker said that it has been a long standing position of India that reprocessing was an integral part of the its nuclear programme because the manner in which it ran its nuclear programme it needed the spent fuel to be reprocessed and not allow it to accumulate.