Poised for Partnership ─ Deepening India-Japan Relations in the Asian Century

The growing strategic partnership between India and Japan is among the most closely watched developments in Asia today. Yet progress beyond the level of rhetoric has been slow, and there continues to be a paucity of rigorous studies on the topic. This pioneering volume brings together a cross-generational group of top scholars and analysts from both India and Japan to study four key areas of bilateral cooperation: economics, energy and climate change, security, and global governance. Specific issues covered include trade, investment, energy security, renewable energy, maritime security, peacekeeping, multilateral institutional reform, nuclear non-proliferation, and the rise of China. Within each focus area, contributors discuss their respective countrys interests, how successful their country has been in achieving them, the current obstacles to deeper bilateral cooperation, and what concrete policies both countries can undertake to impart vitality and longevity to their partnership. The volume is thus both an academic work of foreign policy analysis and a pragmatic manual for policymakers on both sides. If Delhi and Tokyo are sensitive to the insights presented in this volume, they can proceed to build a truly lasting partnership for the 21st century, which can rightly be called the Asian Century.

Rohan Mukherjee is PhD Candidate, Department of Politics, Princeton University (2010-16); Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2015-16); Visiting Fellow (Non-Resident), United Nations University, Tokyo (2014-16); and is going to join the Yale-NUS College, Singapore, as an Assistant Professor of Political Science (2016 onwards).

Anthony YAZAKI is Research Fellow, United Nations University Centre for Policy Research, Tokyo.