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Japan and India Launch Talks on Civilian Nuclear Pact
TOKYOJapan and India began negotiations Monday toward a civilian nuclear pact that could pave the way for major Japanese players, such as Hitachi Ltd., Toshiba Corp. and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, to expand into India's growing nuclear-power sector.
The talks began in Tokyo shortly after India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Toronto.
The two-day talks represent "the first round of negotiations," Japan's foreign ministry said in a statement. They signal a significant shift for Japan, which previously refrained from entering such discussions out of concern over India's refusal to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty aimed at limiting the spread of nuclear weapons.
The talks could be the first step toward bringing Japan into line with the U.S., France and Russia, which already have bilateral civilian nuclear-technology agreements with India.
A Japan-India pact also would likely hearten non-Japanese companies, such as General Electric Co. of the U.S. and Areva SA of France, as it would allow them to use key Japanese technology in their India projects.
This month, South Korea began discussions with energy-hungry India, lending support to the view that Japan was ceding more ground in the competition for lucrative overseas nuclear-technology orders.
Japan's new government under Prime Minister Kan has released an economic-growth strategy calling for more infrastructure project exports, which could include nuclear technology. After the release, trade minister Masayuki Naoshima told reporters that India's use of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes "has already been internationally accepted."
Still, Japan's government didn't give the official green light for talks until Friday, in part because the foreign ministry was considering whether to sign off, according to a ministry official. Japan is the only country to have suffered a nuclear attack, and critics have objected to Non-Proliferation Treaty members selling nuclear-power technologies to states that haven't signed the agreement, a practice they say the treaty implicitly bans. India has tested and possesses nuclear weapons.
But analysts say Tokyo may use the talks to push India not to test any more nuclear weapons and to stick to strict export controls. The foreign ministry official said that even after the talks start, "Japan will continue to make sure India is abiding to its commitments."
On the Japanese side, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Deputy-Director General Mitsuru Kitano is leading the talks. His Indian counterpart is Gautam Bambawale, a joint secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs.
Japan, India Start Talks on a Nuclear Pact - WSJ.com
TOKYOJapan and India began negotiations Monday toward a civilian nuclear pact that could pave the way for major Japanese players, such as Hitachi Ltd., Toshiba Corp. and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, to expand into India's growing nuclear-power sector.
The talks began in Tokyo shortly after India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Toronto.
The two-day talks represent "the first round of negotiations," Japan's foreign ministry said in a statement. They signal a significant shift for Japan, which previously refrained from entering such discussions out of concern over India's refusal to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty aimed at limiting the spread of nuclear weapons.
The talks could be the first step toward bringing Japan into line with the U.S., France and Russia, which already have bilateral civilian nuclear-technology agreements with India.
A Japan-India pact also would likely hearten non-Japanese companies, such as General Electric Co. of the U.S. and Areva SA of France, as it would allow them to use key Japanese technology in their India projects.
This month, South Korea began discussions with energy-hungry India, lending support to the view that Japan was ceding more ground in the competition for lucrative overseas nuclear-technology orders.
Japan's new government under Prime Minister Kan has released an economic-growth strategy calling for more infrastructure project exports, which could include nuclear technology. After the release, trade minister Masayuki Naoshima told reporters that India's use of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes "has already been internationally accepted."
Still, Japan's government didn't give the official green light for talks until Friday, in part because the foreign ministry was considering whether to sign off, according to a ministry official. Japan is the only country to have suffered a nuclear attack, and critics have objected to Non-Proliferation Treaty members selling nuclear-power technologies to states that haven't signed the agreement, a practice they say the treaty implicitly bans. India has tested and possesses nuclear weapons.
But analysts say Tokyo may use the talks to push India not to test any more nuclear weapons and to stick to strict export controls. The foreign ministry official said that even after the talks start, "Japan will continue to make sure India is abiding to its commitments."
On the Japanese side, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Deputy-Director General Mitsuru Kitano is leading the talks. His Indian counterpart is Gautam Bambawale, a joint secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs.
Japan, India Start Talks on a Nuclear Pact - WSJ.com
