My Essay for National Level Essay Writing Competition 2022 on Japan and India, organized by Experience Japan for Indian students...
Friendship of India & Japan - Past, Present and Future
The Japan-India Association is today the oldest international friendship body in Japan. Their relations have traditionally been strong. The people of India and Japan have engaged in cultural exchanges, primarily as a result of Buddhism, which spread from India to Japan during ancient times.
The friendship between India and Japan has a long history rooted in spiritual affinity and strong cultural and civilization ties dating back to the visit of Indian monk Bodhisena in 752 AD. The exchange between Japan and India is said to have begun in the 6th century when Buddhism was introduced to Japan. Indian culture, has had a great impact on Japanese culture, and this is the source of the Japanese people’s sense of closeness to India. Post Second World War, India did not attend the San Francisco Conference but decided to conclude a separate peace treaty with Japan in 1952 after its sovereignty was fully restored marking a defining moment in the bilateral relations and setting the tone for the future. India and Japan established diplomatic relations on 28 April 1952. In the first decade after diplomatic ties were established, several high-level exchanges took place, including Japanese Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi’s visit to India in 1957, Prime Minister Jawaharlal’s return visit to Tokyo the same year, and President Rajendra Prasad’s visit in 1958.
Mr. Mori and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee decided the establishment of "Global Partnership between Japan and India". When Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Japan in December 2006, Japan-India relationship was elevated to the "Global and Strategic Partnership". In the Japan-India Vision Statement issued during Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Japan in October 2018, two leaders reiterated their unwavering commitment to working together towards a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific”. In October 2021, Prime Minister Kishida held a summit telephone talk with Prime Minister Modi. The two leaders concurred to further develop Japan-India relations and work closely toward the realization of a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific”.
The future of the friendship between India and Japan seems bright. The elevation of Indo-Japanese friendship to a “Special Strategic and Global Partnership” is based not only strategic and diplomatic ties. Both sides agreed to take the relationship forward with a “two-plus-two meeting” between the Foreign and Defense ministers of both countries. The India-Japan relationship has the strong and solid backbone of economic partnership too. The bilateral trade between the two has crossed $12 billion. India exported close to $4 billion worth of goods and services to Japan, while it’s imports from that country are close to $8 billion. What is more, Japanese investment in India is set to exceed 5 trillion yen or $40 billion over the next five years.
The strong relationship of Japan and India have been great in the past are great in the present and we hope are great in the future. This essay clearly shows the bonding between India and Japan, and how it will be in the future.
Thank you,
Saion Gupta
