Key person behind Quad & India-Japan ties

• Japan’s Former PM Shinzo Abe was shot dead while campaigning for a election.
• Suspect used a handmade gun.

Personal visits

• 2006-07: Abe visited India and addressed Parliament.
• Delivered famous “Confluence of the Two Seas” speech.
• Laid foundation for Indo-Pacific, main pillars of India-Japan ties.
• During his second stint as PM, he visited India thrice in 2014, 2015 and 2017.
• No other Japanese PM has made so many visits to India.
• He was first Japanese PM to be chief guest at Republic Day parade in 2014.

Bilateral talks

• Foundation for “Global Partnership between Japan and India” was laid in 2001.
• Annual bilateral summits were agreed upon in 2005
• Abe accelerated the pace of ties since 2012.
• Quad, ASEAN-led forums, Indo Pacific Oceans Initiative, Asia-Africa Growth Corridor and Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure all benefited from his contributions.

Nuclear deal

• Convinced anti-nuclear hawks to sign Indo-Japan nuclear deal in 2016.
• Japan owned or has stakes in various US and French nuclear firms crucial for India
• Upgraded bilateral relationship to a “Special Strategic and Global Partnership” – a relationship which encompassed issues from civilian nuclear energy to maritime security, bullet trains to quality infrastructure, Act East policy to Indo-Pacific strategy.

Security agreements

• Security agreement was in place since 2008.
• Decided to have a foreign and defence ministers ‘ meeting (2+2)
• Started negotiations on Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement — a military logistics support pact.
• Pact for transfer of defence equipment and technology was also signed in 2015, an uncommon agreement for post-War Japan.
• November 2019: first foreign and defence ministers’ meeting was held in New Delhi.

Indo-Pacific architecture

• Spelt out his vision in his 2007 speech when the Quad was formed.
• In October 2017, as Chinese aggression grew in Pacific, Indian Ocean, and India’s borders in Doklam, it was Abe’s Japan that mooted the idea of reviving the Quad.
• November 2017: grouping was revived as Indian, Japanese, Australia and US officials met in Manila on the sidelines of East Asia summit.

Stand against China

• Abe’s Japan stood with India through all its stand-offs with China.
• During Doklam crisis and current stand-off, Japan made statements against China for changing the status quo.

Development cooperation

• In 2015, India decided to introduce Shinkansen system (bullet train).
• Formed Act East Forum and are engaged in projects in the Northeast, closely watched by China.
• Both planned joint projects in Maldives and Sri Lanka among others to counter Beijing’s influence.
• As a valuable G-7 leader for India, focused on strategic, economic and political deliverables.