Post-Abe India-Japan Ties: Does Kishida Have What it Takes?

Jagannath P. Panda
Introduction:
Two Japan-India summit meetings between prime ministers Kishida Fumio and Narendra Modi in 2022 underscore their accelerating Special Strategic and Global Partnership. This partnership is based on the shared values of freedom, humanism, democracy, tolerance, and non-violence, outlined in the Abe-Modi vision statement of 2018.
In Modi’s words, “The best is yet to come.”
Indeed, 2022 is proving pivotal for India and Japan in their search for geopolitical power and for the trajectory of their bilateral relations. That this is their 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations is incidental. Both are seen as increasingly relevant partners in uncertain times—the difference is that Japan is a natural, credible partner of the West, whereas India is walking a tightrope amid enticement from both China and the West. Modi’s and Kishida’s personal diplomacy in the wake of the Ukraine war is largely responsible for this growing attention. But will they be able to achieve the “Broader Asia” vision that the former (late) Prime Minister Abe Shinzo promoted, to build a united (and stronger) Indo-Pacific that is already geographically and spatially in motion? Can Kishida endure the political void (and maturity) in India-Japan ties left by Abe’s assassination?
Related Publications
-
Kishida in Cambodia: Seeking Regional Consensus Amid the China Threat?
Last of a two part series on Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s travel to India and Cambodia in March 2022. This article is part of the [Asia’s Next Page] series on JAPAN […]
-
Kishida’s New Era Realism in National Security and India Diplomacy
The Ukraine war and double threat from China and North Korea in Japan’s backyard have pushed Tokyo to update national security plans and step up India ties. On December 16, […]
-
Seoul’s Geopolitical Code on Quad: Imperative or Elective?
Abstract: Under the new government helmed by President Yoon Suk-yeol, South Korea (ROK) has displayed a clear tilt toward and a more open embrace of the Indo- Pacific concept. Interestingly, […]
-
Enlarging Indo-Pacific into the Orbit of Euro-Atlantic: Implications for India
Abstract: Following the release of the United States’ Indo-Pacific strategy that called for building bridges between the Indo-Pacific and the Euro-Atlantic, the idea of interlinking the two geopolitical theaters has […]
-
Taiwan in Tokyo’s 2022 Defense White Paper: Reconfiguring Security Imperatives?
This article was originally posted on the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies (JFSS) website, you can find the article here. A few days prior to the highly controversial visit […]
-
Quad 4.0? To Securitize or Not to Securitize
From an ad-hoc body that emerged to coordinate a response to a devastating tsunami in 2004, the Quad has grown into a critical and formalized framework with a practical agenda. […]