Rupakjyoti Borah

With Shinzo Abe’s resignation, India loses its best friend and ally in Japan

Under Abe, the biggest champion of relations between the two nations, Japan has become a vital investor in India and a major strategic ally. It will be no easy task for New Delhi to nurture a similar friendship with Abe’s successor

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India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe share a light moment in a hotel garden in Yamanakako village, Yamanashi prefecture, Japan, in October 2018. Photo: AP

Rupakjyoti Borah

Published: 2:45pm, 30 Aug 2020Updated: 7:48pm, 30 Aug 2020

The sudden resignation of Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, Shinzo Abe, has come as a shock not only to residents of Japan, but to observers across the world. It is also a bolt from the blue for India, which has always held a special place in Abe’s heart.

He was due to hold a virtual summit with his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, in early September. It would have been an opportunity for the two leaders to take stock of the state of relations in the wake of the Sino-Indian border clash, which led to the deaths of soldiers on both sides, while Japan has been on the receiving end of Chinese fishing boat incursions around the Japanese-held Senkaku Islands (known as the Diaoyu Islands in China).

While last year’s annual bilateral summit had to be cancelled in the wake of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Bill in the host city of Guwahati in northeast India, much water has flowed in the mighty Brahmaputra River since.

Under Abe, Japan has become a major player in the Indian economy. As India’s third-largest investor, Tokyo has invested more than US$32 billion since 2000. India is a key market for many Japanese companies.

The Japanese economy slumped 7.8 per cent in April-June from the previous quarter. In response to supply-chain disruptions from the coronavirus pandemic, Japan launched a massive stimulus package that included 220 billion yen (US$2 billion) for companies shifting production in China back to Japan and 23.5 billion yen for those relocating China production elsewhere. India is likely to benefit; Japan is reportedly planning a new industrial hub in the northeastern state of Assam.

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Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe resigns for health reasons

Under Abe, the two countries have also moved strategically closer. One highlight of the virtual summit was to be the possible signing of the long-delayed India-Japan Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement – a key military logistics pact. This would allow the two countries to share logistics facilities in the Indo-Pacific and is modelled on the India-US agreement.