Japan, India begin talks to cooperate in N-power generation

Japan has so far been aloof to nuclear technology sharing with India because of New Delhi not being a signatory to the NPT.

The ice was broken at a meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his new Japanese counterpart Naoto Kan on the fringes of the G-20 summit in Toronto, Japanese officials said.

India has already inked similar deals with eight countries, including the US, France, Russia and Canada, which are trying to boost their nuclear power industries.

Noting the recent progress in bilateral cooperation in civilian nuclear development, Singh expressed hope for further collaboration in the sector, and Kan responded that there are a number of things Tokyo can cooperate with, Kyodo news agency quoted the Japanese officials as saying.

Singh and Kan, who met for the first time since the latter became the Japanese Prime Minister early this month, also agreed on the need to deepen bilateral ties, while working toward a strategic and global partnership, officials said.

Hours after Singh and Kan met in Toronto, senior Indian and Japanese officials began the first round of talks today at the Japanese Foreign Ministry in Tokyo aimed at sealing a bilateral civilian nuclear cooperation pact.

During the two-day meeting, the two countries will try to work out arrangements to allow Japan to export its nuclear power generation technology and related equipment to India while banning India from using them for military purposes and transferring them to another country, Kyodo news reported.

India is represented by Gautam Bambawale, Joint Secretary (East Asia) in Ministry of External Affairs and Mitsuru Kitano, Deputy-Director General, Southeast and Southwest Asian Affairs Department from the Japanese side.

Japan wants to sign the agreement at an early date in line with the new 10-year growth strategy adopted June 18 by its Cabinet, the highlights of which include promoting the export of nuclear power generation facilities, it said.

In light of China's growing influence in the international arena, Japan is apparently seeking to better position itself by strengthening business ties with India, the report said.

The talks held between Japanese and Indian diplomats were attended also by officials from Japan's Cabinet and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. PTI AKJ ZH 06281635

American and French companies in particular want to use Japanese-made equipment in nuclear power plants they aim to build in India. They and Japanese firms therefore have been pressing on Tokyo to facilitate their business in the emerging country.

In Japan, however, the planned accord faces significant public criticism since India has developed nuclear arms without signing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, so the Japanese government is expected to call on India to work on nuclear disarmament in earnest, the report said.

Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada last week said it was a "tough decision" for Tokyo to enter into the talks with India, which owns nuclear weapons outside the NPT.
Five atomic bomb victim groups from the city of Nagasaki, which was devastated by the atomic bombing by the United States at the end of World War II, jointly issued a written protest today saying Japan should abandon the plan for the accord which leads to the collapse of NPT regimes.

Japan -- the only country that has suffered US atom bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II -- maintains an official policy of not possessing or producing nuclear weapons, and not allowing them on its territory.