Natural partners: Why India needs to get closer to Japan

The coming few months are going to be crucial for the Indian diplomacy even though the Indian politics is in a tailspin and the UPA government not in the pink of health.

India is set to intensify its bilateral engagement with such major world powers as Germany, Japan and China. Perhaps the most defining of these engagements would be with Japan, a “swing” country for India to counterbalance the China factor. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is likely to visit Japan by May-end; but more about it slightly later.

Shortly after that he is likely to visit China on a bilateral visit. However, it is but obvious that even if the PM’s visits to Japan and China are back-to-back, the two destinations won’t be clubbed in the PM’s itinerary as it would be bad diplomacy on part of India and would send wrong signals to both the receiving states.

In June, India is hosting the next IBSA (India, Brazil, South Africa) summit, whose biggest USP is that IBSA is an outfit that is sought by the Chinese to be rendered infructuous after BRICS but India is determined to continue with IBSA as well. The China angle is important in IBSA by virtue of its absence!

Ten days later Manmohan Singh would be in Germany for a bilateral visit (April 10-11). The importance of Germany cannot be overstated. Germany is Europe’s largest economy and also the most populous nation on the continent, having overtaken Russia. Germany contributes 23 percent of the European Union budget. It is India’s biggest trading partner in Europe (with bilateral trade hovering around 20 billlion USD) and the 5th biggest trading partner in the world. Germany is also India’s second largest technology partner.

India and Germany have a strategic partnership since 2001, which has been further strengthened with the first Intergovernmental Consultations held in May 2011. India is the first country in Asia (besides Israel,) and the only country outside Europe to have intergovernmental consultations with Germany.

India and Germany also have several institutionalized arrangements like a strategic dialogue, foreign office consultations, and joint commission on industrial and economic cooperation, defence committee dialogue and a Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism to discuss various bilateral and global issues of interest.

The agenda of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh can be gauged by this brief introduction of Germany and Indo-German relations.

However, the prime focus of the Indian diplomatic outreach would be Japan. As stated before, Japan is the “swing” country for India to balance China. Both India and Japan are troubled by a rising China and both, like many other nations in the neighbourhood, do not find China’s rise “peaceful”. India and Japan are the best bets for each other in countering China.

This is what is happening quietly but surely since 2006 when India and Japan started their bilateral mechanism of holding annual summits. In fact, Japan and Russia are the only two countries with which India has an institutionalized mechanism of annual summits. Not even countries like the United States or Germany or France or UK or even the powerful bloc like the European Union have that privilege!

As Asia’s second and third largest economies respectively, Japan and India are vibrant democracies too and natural partners. India’s relations with Japan are singularly free of any kind of dispute – ideological, cultural or territorial. Not many countries in India’s neighbourhood can boast of this kind of track record. This is despite the length of their bilateral contact. India and Japan have had historical contacts for the last 1500 years.

The two Asian powers have been having a Strategic and Global Partnership since 2006. The Prime Minister’s upcoming visit to Japan will only take that process forward, much to the chagrin of the Chinese who will be inevitably watching closely the Indian prime minister’s visit to a nation they loath most.

Moreover, there is an old saying that”an enemy’s enemy is a friend”. China has cozied up to Pakistan keeping India and this very proverb in mind. In Japan, India sees the possibility of returning the favour to China.

It is true that India and Japan do not reflect their political proximity when it comes to bilateral trade between them. Their bilateral trade is hovering around $20 billion at present. This is nothing in comparison to India-China trade or even Japan-China trade. The Sino-Indian trade is currently pegged at around $80 billion while the Japan-China trade, now declining because of their deteriorating political relations, had peaked to a whopping $300 billion.

But trade is no insurance against frigid political relations which Japan and China are witnessing currently and the possibility of India and China going the same way in future cannot be ruled out.

Fortunately, over the years India has started according a very priority to its strategic relations with Japan, with an eye on China of course.

Some years back Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was put a blunt question by his Japanese counterpart during their annual summit in Tokyo: “How do you deal with China?” To this Singh had replied something like this: Stay engaged with the Chinese on all issues while keeping the most contentious bilateral issues in the background.

This is what India has been doing and Japan is striving to do vis a vis China. The Indian Prime Minister’s upcoming visit to Japan will inevitably provide a fresh template for the two Asian democracies to deal with China.

India needs to get even closer to Japan. This will be an effective counter to China’s “string of pearls” strategy vis a vis India. Japan will be in the same boat.

India, Japan must get closer

Despite favourable geopolitical conditions such as concern over the nature of China’s rise, the relationship between India and Japan remains one of unfulfilled potential. The persistence of a “perception gap” between the two is preventing deeper engagement.

At first glance, India and Japan appear natural partners. Located on the periphery of Asia, both are examples of economic growth developing in line with democratic values.

Furthermore, India and Japan share no territorial disputes or historical animosity. Since a nadir following India’s nuclear tests in 1998, relations have evolved apace; yet certain sticking points are holding back its promise.

During the Cold War, India and Japan adopted contradictory political and — crucially for Japan as a trading-nation — economic systems. India’s economic liberalisation in 1991 encouraged some commercial interest, but this was low, as Japan concentrated efforts on China and South-East Asian markets.

South Korean companies, in contrast, who are less risk-averse than Japanese, established an early presence in India and have since proven more aggressive and hence successful.

Limited exchange

Progress has been made in attracting Japanese interest, most recently evident in the predicted announcement in May 2012 that Japan will sell India advanced bullet-train technology, but despite momentum in this stream of diplomacy, elevating relations to the strategic level has proved problematic. Decades of non-engagement have created a psychological chasm. Due to India’s relatively distant location and humble economic origins, India has only gradually entered Japanese conceptions of Asia.

For some in India, Japan’s alliance with the US and efforts to frame the relationship within a China-checking diplomatic strategy, have created unease. In addition to this, and in contrast to India-US relations, weak levels of people-to-people and cultural exchange limit understanding.

One significant perceptual difference lies in how India and Japan intend to handle China’s rise. Both are highly concerned by Beijing’s military modernisation and activities around its periphery but differ in how to frame their response.

NO ALLIANCES, PLEASE

Both depend on trade with China but India, cautious not to be seen to take sides and crucially sharing a controversial border with China, is less willing to be explicit in its suspicion.

Whereas Japan has begun to identify China’s military as a concern in official documents such as the 2010 defence guidelines, (which was quickly met by angry criticism by Beijing), India’s establishment makes greater effort to clarify that security cooperation with Japan is “not at the cost of any third country, least of all China.”

Second, Japan faces a significant challenge from India’s deep aversion to alliance-making. While in Japan, the relationship enjoys broad cross-party support, powerful lobbies in India resist aligning too closely with any one partner, especially one occasionally hyphenated with the US. As tensions rise over sovereignty in the East China Sea and the pro-US-Japan alliance LDP re-establish themselves in government, relations between Tokyo and Washington are set to deepen. This causes problems for those in India who would like to see Japan as a more autonomous actor.

Third, in India there exists a belief that due to Japan’s constitutional restrictions, India has little to gain from working with Tokyo. Interest has been voiced in India, for example, to engage in joint defence production, especially naval vessels, but has been resisted in Tokyo. This inability or unwillingness to adjust the Constitution, according to some scholars interviewed, feeds the belief that Japan would get a “free ride” from military cooperation with India.

JAPAN’S REGARD

There are, nonetheless, reasons for optimism. The relationship enjoys the support of political leadership; Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has continuously supported ties since 1991, when Tokyo’s pledge of $300 million helped India avert fiscal calamity. Speaking in 2008, Singh explained, “I consider our bilateral relations with Japan to be one of the most important we have.”

India also has reason to welcome the election as Prime Minister, on December 16, 2012, of Shinzo Abe. Abe, previously in office during 2006-07, has long endorsed relations with India, once describing them as “the most important bilateral relationship in the world.” Prior to his second election victory, in a Project Syndicate article, Abe identified India as a “resident power in East Asia” on whom Japan should give “greater emphasis.”

On the popular level, as a recent survey demonstrated, Japan is viewed favourably as a highly developed, honest, hard-working and peaceful country. Japanese products, including Maruti-Suzuki and Toyota automobiles, white goods and Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) contributions such as the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) are appreciated, as is the Delhi Metro system.

Gradually, strategists on both sides are appreciating the necessity of deeper engagement, particularly regarding maritime security and nuclear technology trade. For example, whereas in 2008, India resisted inviting Japan to join Malabar maritime exercises following China’s vocal unease at the creation of an “Asian NATO,” in 2012 Japan and India staged their first bilateral initiative.

Similarly, in stark contrast to Japan’s condemnation of India’s position on nuclear technology following tests in 1998, in June 2010, Japan announced talks to conclude a civil-nuclear trade agreement. Considering India’s refusal to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty, this move was a remarkable step for Japanese policymakers who have long been one of the treaty’s staunchest defenders. Despite some unease by Delhi, the launch in December 2011 of a US-Japan-India trilateral dialogue also suggested a realisation of the importance of exchanging views at the top level of government. Despite the objections of China to this grouping, the annual meeting is set to continue.

MILITARY EXERCISES

Significant challenges, however, remain. Military exercises are small in scale and despite interest from India; it is uncertain whether Japan will extend its recent relaxation in arms exports controls to trade directly with India. The disaster at the Fukushima nuclear plant has thrown Japan’s pre-March 2011 nuclear strategy into flux with little immediate prospect of a conclusion to talks, despite rumours they may be re-launched this year. Despite some partial understanding by each of the other’s position on nuclear technology, Japan’s adherence and India’s rejection of the NPT remains an obstacle.

Japan remains uncertain as to what extent Delhi will stand up to China and a tough general election for the ruling Congress party in 2014 will likely further harden India’s willingness to remain unaligned. But pressure will grow on Delhi to outline its position within the balance of power.

However, relations to some extent have been compartmentalised in order to exploit the complementarities in Japan and India’s economies.

Japan offers India advanced technology, infrastructure investment, and power supply expertise, while India’s expanding middle class, accompanied by growing geopolitical stature, provide an enticing alternative to China. The agreement in 2012 for India to provide Japan with rare earth supplies following China’s indirect sanction on Tokyo, demonstrated the practical value that working with India can provide.

Both countries must challenge the “psychological distance” and deepen the conversation at all levels, including student exchange, foreign visitors, military dialogue, and bureaucratic cooperation in order to enhance relations.

(The author is a Visiting Fellow at the Tokyo Foundation and a Daiwa Scholar.)

India backs Japan on maritime security to fend off China

With both India and Japan facing an assertive China, New Delhi this week came out clearly on Tokyo's side on the high seas. During his visit to Tokyo this week, foreign minister Salman Khurshid said India would help Japan to ensure freedom of navigation on the seas, a key assurance before the visit of PM Manmohan Singh to Japan in May.

"There can be little doubt that countries like India and Japan must cooperate in ensuring the security of the global commons including freedom of navigation on the high seas that is critical to both our countries which import large amounts of oil and gas."Let me say clearly today that India stands with Japan, and other like-minded countries, in pursuing and implementing these goals and objectives," Khurshid said during a speech at the Rikkyo University in Tokyo earlier this week.

Japan has been involved in a dispute with China on the East China Sea, while this week Beijing's naval patrols off Malaysia and Brunei have raised concerns there as well. India retains commercial interests in South China Sea, but may come up against China's aggressive patrolling there too.

However, to clarify matters officially, Khurshid said, "All this cooperation is not aimed at any other country but helps us to gain valuable knowledge and experience about the interoperability of our defence forces." He added, "Indian and Japanese Coast Guards have regular interactions as does the Indian Navy and Japan's Maritime Self-Defence Force."

Japan to provide $2.32 Billion to India

Japan, already a major investor in India, will provide New Delhi $2.32 billion for infrastructure building as the two seek to widen their strategic ties.


The announcement was made in Tokyo during the visit of Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid for the 7th India-Japan Strategic Dialogue.

"We hope to deepen and develop a strategic and global partnership (with India) by building a close cooperative relationship," Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said after his meeting with Khurshid, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.

The 220.4 billion yen ($2.32 billion) will go for four projects including the Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor, the Daily Yomiuri reported.

The report quoted Khurshid as saying he hoped that bilateral negotiations to conclude an agreement on peaceful nuclear energy cooperation would move forward. The talks had stalled after Japan's March 11, 2011 Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant crisis.

The report said Kishida and Khurshid also agreed to reinforce maritime security cooperation between the two countries.

In a speech at Tokyo's Rikkyo University, Khurshid said India-Japan economic engagement has expanded significantly since the two sides established their Strategic and Global Partnership in 2006, the Indian government website reported.

"We are delighted that India continues to poll very high amongst Japanese firms as a long term investment destination," he said. "The number of firms from your country which have operations in India is over 1,000 now, and while we can take some satisfaction from this fact, naturally we want many more of your firms to invest in India."

He said India a labor abundant country with relatively low wage rates, while Japan is abundant in capital and has technology and management expertise, "which can be married to our competitive advantages."

Khurshid said India plans to invest about $1 trillion in infrastructure in the next four years.

People-to-people exchanges weak between India, Japan: Khurshid

External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Tuesday said Indo-Japan bilateral relations are weak when it comes to people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.

Speaking at Rikkyo University, Tokyo, Khurshid said: "While our economic interaction and political and security exchanges are strong and expanding, the one area in our bilateral ties which continues to remain weak is in the area of people-to-people exchanges."

"While politics and economics are indeed important, perhaps it is the interaction between the people of any two countries which is a significant variable in relations between nations. This is where the Governments of our countries are paying their greatest attention since tourism flows can indeed be strengthened as can student exchanges."

He said direct flights between cities in India and Japan have increased over the last two years, but are still far below potential.

"Given the fact that our combined population is nearly 1.4 billion, we are very aware that we can do far better in attracting more Japanese tourists to India. Indeed, the same is true of Indian tourism in the direction of Japan. The number of Indian students in Japan does not exceed a few hundred," Khurshid said.

"Perhaps, Universities in each of our countries can institute more scholarships which may attract more students from the other country. There are Chairs of Indian Studies at the University of Tokyo as well as at Ryokoku University. I encourage Rikkyo University to establish a Chair in Indian Studies. It will help spark increased interest in India," he said.

"I would venture to state that both India and Japan need to work on ensuring a confluence of our peoples if we are to ensure that bilateral ties continue to stay on their high trajectory. I am told that Indian movies are beginning to make an entrance into the Japanese market and that may bring our people closer together," said the Indian minister.

The External Affairs Minister's speech at Rikkyo University, Tokyo:

Chancellor Mr. Itoigawa,

President Professor Yoshioka,

Professor Takenaka,

Teachers and students of Rikkyo University,

Friends.

Thank you for your very warm welcome. I am delighted to be with all of you today at this prestigious campus of the famous Rikkyo University. I am here in Tokyo on my first official visit to your beautiful country as the External Affairs Minister of India. I will utilize this wonderful opportunity today to spell out what I see as the trajectory of relations between India and Japan in the coming years of the 21st Century.

When I planned this visit to Tokyo, I did not realize that I would be visiting this capital city of Japan when it is at its prettiest, with the sakura or the cherry blossoms in full bloom. I am told that they have bloomed a little early this year, perhaps in time for my visit. I would like to think that this is an omen. What I will argue in the course of my address to you today is that the relationship between our two countries, between India and Japan, is also on the cusp of flowering and blooming like the cherry blossoms. Relations between our two countries are about to experience spring time.

In a period of history when we are seeing the resurgence of Asia within the world economy, we in India constantly remind ourselves that it was Japan which was the first country in Asia which underwent the industrial revolution. The rise of Japan in the 19th Century into an industrial society and an important economy has always urged us in India to follow your example and driven us in our national endeavor of economic development and social progress. In this sense, Japan has been like the Pole Star and guided us in India on the way forward in our own national domestic effort.

Centuries before the Meiji Restoration, India had made its own contribution to Japanese society when Buddhism traveled from the land of its birth over the seas to Japan. The teachings of the Buddha with emphasis on the Middle Path found fertile ground for growth in your country. The famous Todaiji Temple at Nara is a monument to the flourishing exchanges that existed between us in a bygone era. Isn't it an amazing fact that the Indian monk Bodhisena traveled to Nara over 1200 years ago to consecrate the Buddha statue at Todaiji?

While we have this rich heritage on which we can build further, today in the 21st Century India and Japan share common values which provide even firmer ground on which our Strategic and Global Partnership is founded. We are the two largest, most enduring democracies in Asia. Each of us cherish the free and fair electoral system which throws up the Governments that lead our countries and which in turn find legitimacy from such periodic elections. The Japanese and Indian people both uphold and value individual freedoms and human rights. We firmly believe in the rule of law and that no individual is above the law of the land. I am confident that this shared value system will stand us in good stead in the years ahead and it will prove to be the foundation for an expanded relationship between our countries and our peoples. Such a relationship will be guided by principle but will also be grounded in reality and pragmatism.

A second factor which augurs well for the India - Japan partnership is that there is consensus in both our nations and across the political spectrum that a strong relationship between our countries is in our national interests and is good for Asia and the world at large. Therefore, whatever political party may be in power either in Japan or in India, our bilateral ties will continue to prosper and grow. We have indeed experienced exactly this through the changes of Government in Japan over the past few years.

The end of the Cold War and the beginning of a new Century provided the necessary conditions for a quantum leap in interaction and exchange between our countries. It was the vision and leadership of then Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori which helped convert potential into practice. His historic, path breaking visit to India in the year 2000 provided the much needed impetus for our relations to be taken to a new level. Guided by his strategic vision both nations saw the merit in substantive bilateral engagement in diverse spheres. What Mori-san started at that point in time has been taken to its logical conclusion by succeeding Governments both in Japan as well as in India.

Our economic engagement has expanded significantly over these past few years, since we established our Strategic and Global Partnership in 2006. We have implemented a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement since August 2011. It has been well over a year since then and the initial results in terms of greater flows of trade and investment are heartening after factoring in the depressed global economic conditions that have ensued in this period. We are delighted that India continues to poll very high amongst Japanese firms as a long term investment destination. The number of firms from your country which have operations in India is over 1000 now, and while we can take some satisfaction from this fact, naturally we want many more of your firms to invest in India. Very frankly, there is a perfect fit here since India is a labour abundant country with relatively low wage rates. Japan is abundant in capital and has technology and management expertise which can be married to our competitive advantages. We are also immensely aware of the need to upgrade physical infrastructure in India whether at our ports or our highways and roads. That is why we plan to invest about 1 trillion US Dollars in infrastructure during the period 2012 to 2017. We are confident that in the near future the infrastructure needs of corporate Japan will be met in India. We have also recently announced a new manufacturing policy to encourage and support this very important segment of the economy. Jobs for our young population will come mainly from manufacturing and we believe Japanese firms will find a win-win situation in this regard in our country.

Suzuki, of course, is a household name in India thanks to the automobiles it has been producing in India since the 1980s. They were well ahead of the curve in entering India, had first mover's advantage and therefore even today have the largest market share in our domestic car market. What I find very interesting about the Suzuki model, is that they have now also made India a manufacturing hub for export of cars to the Middle East, North Africa and even East Europe. We are delighted that other famous Japanese auto firms such as Nissan and Toyota have followed suit. The ancillary firms have begun to come to India more recently and this relatively recent development makes us sure that we are on the right track for enhancing foreign investment flows.

India continues to be the largest recipient nation of Japanese Official Development Assistance for many years in a row. The Government and people of India greatly appreciate this help from the people of Japan. This aid has been utilized in large, iconic infrastructure development projects such as the Delhi Metro project which has revolutionized travel within the city for millions of commuters. Seeing this successful example, other cities of India are also vying to build underground metro projects, some of them with Japanese assistance. Similarly, the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor project will help accelerate the speed with which goods are transported between Delhi and Mumbai and will benefit the Indian economy greatly. The Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor is another Japanese funded project in India which has enormous significance since it will establish new towns and cities which will become manufacturing hubs and will combine modern technologies to make them smart cities. Many of these ventures are futuristic in their orientation and will positively impact modernization and development in India.

I firmly believe that India - Japan economic engagement creates a win-win situation for both our countries and will help foster growth in the second and third largest economies of Asia.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Political and security cooperation between India and Japan has a significance which goes beyond our two countries. We are both members of the East Asia Summit process and we desire to see this architecture being open, transparent and inclusive. We have a bilateral Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation and an Action Plan to Advance Security Cooperation that spells out a detailed dialogue mechanism which has been meeting regularly and its decisions implemented steadfastly. We have annual Summits between our Prime Ministers and we hope to have our Prime Minister visit your country soon. We also have an annual Strategic Dialogue between the Foreign Ministers of our countries and I myself am here in Tokyo for the 7th dialogue with Foreign Minister Kishida whom I will meet later this evening. We expect to talk about the entire range of issues in our bilateral ties as well as regional and global issues. The discussions between us are usually frank, candid and constructive in keeping with the partnership our countries enjoy. Japan is the only country with which India has a 2 Plus 2 dialogue between the Defence and Foreign Ministries of our Governments.

The Indian and Japanese Coast Guards have regular interactions as does the Indian Navy and your Maritime Self Defence Force. We had our first bilateral naval exercise last June. All this cooperation is not aimed at any other country but helps us to gain valuable knowledge and experience about the interoperability of our defence forces.

Prime Minister Abe has also contributed immeasurably to the India - Japan strategic partnership. In his earlier stint as Prime Minister of Japan he visited us in India in 2007 and delivered a memorable address to a joint sitting of our Parliament. At that time, he had eloquently spoken of the confluence of the two seas which gave rise to the term 'Indo-Pacific' that is commonly used by strategic thinkers today. There can be little doubt that countries like India and Japan must cooperate in ensuring the security of the global commons including freedom of navigation on the high seas that is critical to both our countries which import large amounts of oil and gas. Let me say clearly today that India stands with Japan, and other like minded countries, in pursuing and implementing these goals and objectives.

India and Japan work closely on international and global issues as well. Both our Governments have been relentlessly pursuing the objective of reforming the United Nations, including its Security Council, so as to make it more representative of the realities of today's world. We are both members of the G-20 where we have worked tirelessly to overcome the international financial crisis and its impact on the world economy. Within Asia, we are partners in the ASEAN Regional Forum, the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting Plus and the expanded ASEAN Maritime Forum. We have a Trilateral Dialogue with the United States.

Ladies and Gentlemen, while our economic interaction and political and security exchanges are strong and expanding, the one area in our bilateral ties which continues to remain weak is in the area of people-to-people exchanges. While politics and economics are indeed important, perhaps it is the interaction between the people of any two countries which is a significant variable in relations between nations. This is where the Governments of our countries are paying their greatest attention since tourism flows can indeed be strengthened as can student exchanges. Direct flights between cities in India and Japan have increased over the last two years, but are still far below potential. Given the fact that our combined population is nearly 1.4 billion, we are very aware that we can do far better in attracting more Japanese tourists to India. Indeed, the same is true of Indian tourism in the direction of Japan. The number of Indian students in Japan does not exceed a few hundred. Perhaps, Universities in each of our countries can institute more scholarships which may attract more students from the other country. There are Chairs of Indian Studies at the University of Tokyo as well as at Ryokoku University. I encourage Rikkyo University to establish a Chair in Indian Studies. It will help spark increased interest in India.

I would venture to state that both India and Japan need to work on ensuring a confluence of our peoples if we are to ensure that bilateral ties continue to stay on their high trajectory. I am told that Indian movies are beginning to make an entrance into the Japanese market and that may bring our people closer together.

Which leads me to the question of where I think India - Japan relations will be in a decade from now? As I have spelt out, all the necessary conditions for a take-off in our relations are in place. The sufficient conditions are being worked upon and I hope will fall into place in the next few years. These sufficient conditions include better infrastructure in India, more flows of tourists and students in both directions and political convergence between our Governments.

It is these facts on the ground which leads me to be very optimistic about our bilateral ties and to predict that they will blossom further in the coming decade of the 21st Century. I have little doubt that it will be young people like the students who are gathered here today at Rikkyo University who will lead this charge and on whom will devolve the responsibility of ensuring that spring comes early to India - Japan relations.

I thank you for your patience. I thank you for your welcome.

Japan's Kyosan Electric in India for rail connect

Kyosan Electric Manufacturing, a 100-year-old Japanese company that manufactures railway and road signalling systems, opened its first India office in Delhi on Monday to increase its presence in the country's railway network.

The company has plans to be part of the huge expansion

of  the Indian railways network by providing safety signalling system for the proposed high speed railways and special corridors. There are 20 rail routes that are ready for high speed corridors.

In the next five years, signalling projects in Indian railways is expected to touch $3 billion. "Indian railways and road users can look forward to improved traffic safety and reliability, and our global corporate motto has been promoting safety and reliability," said T Tokodai, president and chief operating officer, Kyosan Electric Manufacturing.

‘India-Japan economic engagement creates a win-win situation for both nations’: Khurshid

External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Tuesday said economic engagement between India and Japan creates a win-win situation for both countries and will help foster growth in the second and third largest economies of Asia.

Khurshid said ‘a second factor which augurs well for the India – Japan partnership is that there is consensus in both our nations and across the political spectrum that a strong relationship between our countries is in our national interests and is good for Asia and the world at large’.

“Therefore, whatever political party may be in power either in Japan or in India, our bilateral ties will continue to prosper and grow. We have indeed experienced exactly this through the changes of Government in Japan over the past few years,” he added.

In his speech at Rikkyo University here, Khurshid said the end of the Cold War and the beginning of a new Century provided the necessary conditions for a quantum leap in interaction and exchange between the two countries.

“It was the vision and leadership of then Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori which helped convert potential into practice. His historic, path-breaking visit to India in the year 2000 provided the much-needed impetus for our relations to be taken to a new level. Guided by his strategic vision both nations saw the merit in substantive bilateral engagement in diverse spheres,” said Khurshid.

“What Mori-san started at that point in time has been taken to its logical conclusion by succeeding Governments both in Japan as well as in India,” he added.

Khurshid said the economic engagement between India and Japan has expanded significantly over the past few years

“Our economic engagement has expanded significantly over these past few years, since we established our Strategic and Global Partnership in 2006. We have implemented a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement since August 2011. It has been well over a year since then and the initial results in terms of greater flows of trade and investment are heartening after factoring in the depressed global economic conditions that have ensued in this period,” he added.

Khurshid also expressed his delight over the fact that India continues to poll very high amongst Japanese firms as a long-term investment destination.

“The number of firms from your country which have operations in India is over 1000 now, and while we can take some satisfaction from this fact, naturally we want many more of your firms to invest in India. Very frankly, there is a perfect fit here since India is a labour abundant country with relatively low wage rates. Japan is abundant in capital and has technology and management expertise, which can be married to our competitive advantages. We are also immensely aware of the need to upgrade physical infrastructure in India whether at our ports or our highways and roads. That is why we plan to invest about 1 trillion US Dollars in infrastructure during the period 2012 to 2017,” said Khurshid.

“We are confident that in the near future the infrastructure needs of corporate Japan will be met in India. We have also recently announced a new manufacturing policy to encourage and support this very important segment of the economy. Jobs for our young population will come mainly from manufacturing and we believe Japanese firms will find a win-win situation in this regard in our country,” he added.

Khurshid further said ‘Suzuki, of course, is a household name in India thanks to the automobiles it has been producing in India since the 1980s’.

“They were well ahead of the curve in entering India, had first mover’s advantage and therefore even today have the largest market share in our domestic car market. What I find very interesting about the Suzuki model, is that they have now also made India a manufacturing hub for export of cars to the Middle East, North Africa and even East Europe,” said Khurshid.

“We are delighted that other famous Japanese auto firms such as Nissan and Toyota have followed suit. The ancillary firms have begun to come to India more recently and this relatively recent development makes us sure that we are on the right track for enhancing foreign investment flows,” he added.

Asserting that India continues to be the largest recipient nation of Japanese Official Development Assistance for many years in a row, Khurshid said : ” The Government and people of India greatly appreciate this help from the people of Japan. This aid has been utilized in large, iconic infrastructure development projects such as the Delhi Metro project, which has revolutionized travel within the city for millions of commuters. Seeing this successful example, other cities of India are also vying to build underground metro projects, some of them with Japanese assistance.”

“Similarly, the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor project will help accelerate the speed with which goods are transported between Delhi and Mumbai and will benefit the Indian economy greatly. The Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor is another Japanese funded project in India which has enormous significance since it will establish new towns and cities which will become manufacturing hubs and will combine modern technologies to make them smart cities. Many of these ventures are futuristic in their orientation and will positively impact modernization and development in India,” he added.

Digital, mobile ads to drive Dentsu India's growth: Ohri

Digital ad campaigns will drive Denstu's next big initiatives in Indian in the coming months as the Japanese major's Indian arm firm up plans to press the accelerator on promotions that are tailored to mobile technology platforms.

"The next big leap in India's advertising world will come in the area of digital space. We have specific plans to scale up our operations in this area where we will draw upon our expertise and experience from our offerings in Japan," said Rohit Ohri, executive chairman, Dentsu India Group.


Mobile phones are now used by more than three out of four Indians, while there are more than 60 million Facebook subscribers from India, adding 2 million new members a month.



If mobile phones have democractised communications by dismantling class barriers, social media - epitomised mainly by social network Facebook, microblogging site Twitter, online videosite Youtube and professional networking site Linkedin - is proving to be the logical next step for staying connected in India.

Social-media friendly smart phones, which bring the browsing power of the Net to your palmtop, can be bought for as little as Rs. 5,000.

"For advertisers, the biggest challenge will be on how to most optimally use the mobile phone for building a brand," Ohri said.

Smartphone sales crossed 20 million in 2012 and are set to double this year as telecom operators roll out 4G services.

Dentsu has recently launched "iButterfly" in India, first launched in Japan in 2010, as a "Coupon Entertainment" platform using mobile application.

"Some of the world's largest brands have used iButterfly - Samsung, Reebok, Starbucks, Dove, to name a few, have all found immense value in connecting the end consumer via this medium," said Ohri.

Bollywood bigwigs hope Japan fans are in it for keeps

In the 1990s, one of the most popular foreign movie stars in Japan was an Indian actor named Rajinikanth, who appeared in films made for India’s Tamil-speaking southern region. These movies were pure “masala” cinema, an exuberant mix of action, comedy, romance, melodrama and music that made no concession to anything but the will to entertain. The purity of their purpose, encapsulated in the hyperbolic acting style of the “Superstar” and production numbers featuring dozens of dancers, multiple locations, and gratuitous costume changes, delighted Japanese audiences, who normally responded by dancing in the aisles.

“In Japan, Rajinikanth’s 1995 film ‘Muthu, Dancing Maharajah’ was a big phenomenon,” says Kyoko Dan, a Kobe-based movie publicist who works with Asian producers. “So when Japanese people hear about Indian films many think of ‘Muthu.’ ”

Technically, Rajinikanth doesn’t qualify as Bollywood, the popular term that combines “Bombay” (now referred to as Mumbai) and “Hollywood” to represent Indian cinema in the world but which describes Hindi-language productions. Rajinikanth’s core fans reject the Bollywood label because, according to Dan, they think Bollywood films are insufficiently “manly.”

“We do have a perception of Japan as being a very fad-oriented market,” says Avtar Panesar, vice president of international operations for Yash Raj Films, during a conversation at the Shinjuku Cinemart theater in Tokyo, where a local audience was watching an invitational preview of his studio’s 2012 film “Ek Tha Tiger,” which boasts the second biggest international box-office take for a Bollywood movie.

Yash Raj is releasing four features here in the next few months, including “Tiger” and the No. 1 international Bollywood hit of all time, “Three Idiots,” through local distributor Nikkatsu. “We’ve been in talks for over a year-and-a-half,” he adds. “The idea is not to do a one-movie deal. We want to work with someone who will take the plunge.”

Coincidentally, “Om Shanti Om,” which at the time of its release in 2007 was the biggest grossing Hindi language film domestically, as well as the widest ever global release for an Indian production, is finally enjoying a theatrical run in Japan thanks to local art movie/documentary distributor Uplink. “It premiered at the Berlin Film Festival,” says Farah Khan, the director of “Om,” during a recent interview at the Indian Embassy. “The audience was dancing. It was everything they loved about Bollywood, all the big numbers and the typical Indian story. Over-the-top stuff.”

Kabir Khan (no relation) uses the same term when discussing “Ek Tha Tiger,” which he directed. “The lead, Salman Khan (also no relation), is the biggest star in India today,” he says, sitting next to Panesar. “Everything’s over-the-top — the action, the humor.” The difference with mainstream Bollywood is that his film has “some grounding in reality.”

It’s about an undercover agent for India’s intelligence service who is assigned to keeps tabs on a Indian missile scientist, a visiting scholar at an Irish university. The agent inadvertently falls in love with the scientist’s assistant, a Hindi-speaking woman who turns out to be a spy for Pakistan. “Ek Tha Tiger” has all the requisite masala components but dilutes them with social references — at least up to a point. The espionage has more to do with “Romeo and Juliet” than James Bond, but there are only two production numbers, and one is saved for the final credit roll.

Kabir started out as a documentary director. “I was getting commissions from foreign TV producers since I worked in Afghanistan,” he explains. “There were not many filmmakers with my kind of access, but I had no connection with an Indian audience, and if you want to say something in India there’s no medium more powerful than cinema.”

His first mainstream feature was “Kabul Express,” an action film set in Afghanistan with some comedy scenes but no songs. It was still considered Bollywood because of its marquee-level stars. His next film, “New York,” was about three Hindi-speaking friends living in New York City during the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and how one becomes a terrorist suspect. It contains torture and bombs and Indian FBI agents, but also songs, lighthearted elements, and a love triangle.

“Normally, Bollywood doesn’t do politics,” Kabir says, and while he thinks the industry has become more adventurous there’s still a ways to go. In classic masala movies, for instance, Muslim characters were either sidekicks or bad guys. He wants to make films in which “characters have Muslim names (like Khan) but no special reference is made to them of being Muslim.”

Farah, whose father directed “B-grade action movies in the ’60s,” thinks the changes mentioned by Kabir affect only a small part of the business. “The indie and art sectors, what we call ‘parallel cinema’ in Bollywood, are doing well now in India,” she says. “They can make a lot of money at the multiplexes. But those movies don’t cater to the whole of India, which is vast.

Most of the country is illiterate, so you can’t give them something that goes over their heads.” Maybe one “socially relevant” Bollywood film makes any money in a given year. “Multiplex ticket prices are higher than those for single-screen theaters, which is where the masses go,” she says. “They want song-and-dance, glamorous girls, good-versus-evil. They want to go home feeling entertained.”

“Om Shanti Om” was seen as a movie that bridged the gap between the multiplex audience and the “single screen culture.” Basically a parody of (or, as Farah prefers, an “homage” to) classic masala films, it features a clever two-part structure, one taking place in 1977, the other in 2007, about two film actors, one a huge star the other a bumbling novice, who fall in love in the first part and are then reincarnated in the second with their roles reversed. This premise allowed Farah to stage a huge production number for each part with the biggest stars from their respective eras. “The multiplex audience totally got it,” she says. “It received great reviews, but the taxi drivers loved it, too.”

If Japan’s interest in Bollywood turns out to be more than a fad, producers will be happy to film here. Kabir is developing a script about the Indian Army’s alliance with the Japanese military during World War II to fight the former’s colonial masters, the British. But even if the movie doesn’t require Japan locations, Panesar says it doesn’t mean they can’t shoot in Japan. He has been in contact with regional film commissions in the Kansai region to discuss such possibilities, since a requirement of modern Bollywood is foreign settings, no matter how gratuitous. “Ek Tha Tiger” had six. “We used Trinity College in Dublin,” says Panesar, “but it just as easily could have been a school in Tokyo.”

Endo Lighting opens first flagship store in India at Delhi

Bringing international LED lighting solutions to India, Japan-based Endo Lighting has opened its flagship store in Delhi at Defence Colony.

Muralidhar Manvi, President, Endo Lighting Accessories, said: “We are delighted to present to the Indian consumer the unsurpassed magic of meticulous lighting! Addressing the needs of the ever evolving customer, the Endo Application Centre showcases their entire product range that caters to the needs of every segment of the Indian market. The range on offer from Endo would be unrivalled in efficiency and product differentiation.”

“Every customer in the non-domestic market who is seeking high level of energy efficiency and value for money in terms of ownership cost is our customer. The range of products at ENDO stores are close to Rs 2,700," he added.

Talking about the expansion plans, Manvi informed: “We have started our first application centre in India at Delhi and shall be progressively expanding to other major centres. Incidentally this is the first store for Endo anywhere in the world outside of Japan, which signifies the importance we attach to India.”

However, the company is facing challenges in terms of consumer awareness about LED, lack of quality orientation and more of commoditisation by the leading players in the industry.

Said company official that the store had drawn an investment of around Rs 12 million. "Our primary objective is to spread the awareness and showcase the technology to the Indian consumers," he added.

Lighting fixtures market is estimated at around Rs 1,500 to 1,700 crore and is growing at 15-20 percent annually.

Happy Hours Launches India's 1st Roland School of Music Japan

Happy Hours,an institution committed to the development and enrichment of young musical talents,here today launched India's first Roland School of Music (RSM)from Japan.
With a focus on education with entertainment and an all-round approach to learning music,the new school has opened its doors in presence of Mr. Shigeru Kimoto,Marketing Manager Roland Corporation,Japan and leading singer Rupam Islam at a function in the city.     

The academy would offer specialist training programmes in collaboration with Roland UK. Students will be encouraged to consider a variety of career options and to develop the skills needed to create their own business opportunities or attract potential industry employers,Mr Kimoto speaking on the occasion said. He said in addition to working with leading-edge technology, academy students would be benefitted from a range of master classes and clinics delivered by Roland product specialists and leading industry figures.Boasting state-of-the-art teaching facilities,each academy had been equipped with Roland and Edirol hardware products, Cakewalk's Sonar production software and Make Music's Finale notation package.

Kalyani to head India-Japan Business Forum

Baba Kalyani, Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Forge Ltd., has been nominated as the Chairman of the India-Japan Business Leader’s Forum (IJBLF).

Mr. Kalyani was appointed by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry “to leverage the developing trade and investment between the two countries for greater co-operation between their businesses,” a company statement said here. The forum has 15 members, including Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani, Bharti Enterprises head Sunil Bharti Mittal, HDFC Chairman Deepak Parekh, Infosys’ S. Gopalakrishnan, TCS CEO N. Chandrasekaran and Godrej Group Chairman Adi Godrej.

“IJBLF will continue to strengthen the business processes and explore newer opportunities for both economies,” the statement added.

Mitsubishi Electric mulls elevator factory in India

Not to be left behind in the growing Indian elevator and escalator market, Japan's Mitsubishi Electric is exploring options to set up a production base in India through its joint venture Mitsubishi Elevator ETA India Pvt. Ltd., a top company official said.

"We are planning to set up a factory in India. However, as a first step we will set up logistics centre near here which will take care of sheet metal items needed for the elevators. We will also outsource some of the items," Bharat Vishnani, deputy chief executive officer, told reporters here.

According to Vishnani, the Rs.49 crore equity based Mitsubishi Elevator ETA is a four-way joint venture between Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (holding 40 percent stake), Mitsubishi Electric Building Techno-Service Co. Ltd. (five percent); Mitsubishi Corporation (10 percent); and ETA Ascon Holding LLC (45 percent).

The joint venture was formed by taking over a Mitsubishi elevator distribution company ETA Melco Engg Pvt. Ltd. with a turnover of around Rs.1 billion, he said.

Vishnani said the company is exploring the opportunity to set up a plant here given the fact global majors like Kone Elevators have production facilities in India.

Recently, another Japanese company Toshiba joint hands with city-based elevator manufacturer Johnson Lifts for high-speed lifts.

Queried about the delay in Mitsubishi Electric firming up its India plans, Masahito Endo, managing director and chief executive of the Indian company, said: "We were focused on the Chinese market which was around 400,000 units per year."

Vishnani said that last year the Indian elevator market was pegged at around 44,000 units and is expected to grow at around 8-10 percent this year.

He said the new joint venture has also taken over the operation and maintenance contract business of ETA Melco Engg.

In 2012, around 1,600 Mitsubishi brand elevators and escalators were sold in the country. This year, the number will go up further as the logistics centre will be ready by September, Vishnani said.

The cumulative sales of Mitsubishi brand of elevators and escalators in the country will soon touch 10,000 units. The company will also look at tier two towns for market growth, he added.

Maruti Suzuki Swift Star Limited Edition Launches in India

Ever Since the Japanese automaker, Suzuki launched the Swift-its first global strategic model in Japan in late 2004, it has never looked back. The car has been a huge success globally including India that received the vehicle back in 2005. Sold in a total 125 countries, over 30 lakh units of Swifts have been sold worldwide, out of which India accounts for 45% of the total sales. So, to celebrate this milestone, Maruti Suzuki has now rolled out Swift Star- a limited celebration edition in India.



The new Swift Star has received some cosmetic changes both inside and out like a double-DIN stereo with Bluetooh, a rear roof spoiler, steering wheel cover, art leather seat covers and designer floor mats. However, mechanically the car remains all the same. The limited edition Swift Star has been made available on the base and middle variants of both the petrol and diesel versions. And the company is charging an additional sum of Rs 23,000 to offer all the new features, which is in fact not a bad deal.

Swift is global in outlook and production – it was first built in Japan, followed by Hungary, China, India, Indonesia and Malaysia and more recently production began in Thailand; vehicles sold in Europe are built at Suzuki’s established Magyar plant in Hungary

Globally, around 13 per cent of Swift sales are in Japan, 45 per cent in India and 23 per cent in Europe with the remainder from other world markets. What has helped it do so well is a blend of eye-catching good looks, Japanese quality and European inspired driving dynamics to the compact car segment.

Research confirms rich rare earths in mud from Pacific seabed

A deep sea survey near a remote Japanese island in the Pacific has confirmed a rich deposit of rare earth minerals in mud taken from the seabed. The Japan for Marine-Earth Science and Technology and the University of Tokyo analysed mud samples taken in January from seven locations on the ocean floor as deep as 5,800 meters and found rare earth minerals concentration far higher than those contained in soil in China.

 

A deep-sea research vessel, the Kairei, surveyed the areas near Japan's easternmost Minamitorishima island some 2,000 kilometres southeast of Tokyo, where about 230 years worth of domestic consumption of the minerals are estimated to exist in the seabed. The research team confirmed concentrations of the minerals of as high as over 0.65 percent of the mud, about 20 times higher than a typical level found at Chinese mines. Rare earth minerals such as dysprosium are essential for producing high-tech products such as hybrid car motors and mobile phone parts.

Cultural fest to bring Japan closer to Chennai

The Consulate-General of Japan at Chennai and ABK-AOTS DOSOKAI, Tamilnadu Centre, will organise a three-day Japan Cultural Festival from March 22. The festival will feature exhibitions of dolls, dioramas (miniature models of the UNESCO heritage sites in Japan), Ikebana (Japanese art of flower arrangement), Nendo No Tetsukuri (clay art), Origami and Bonsai, apart from demonstrations of martial arts Kobudo and Bonsai.
 
“Ikebana is more than simply putting flowers in a container. It is a disciplined art form and the floral arrangement is a living thing, where nature and humanity are brought together. Ikebana is a creative expression with certain rules of arrangements. Most of its materials are live branches, leaves, grasses and flowers.” says a release. Nendo No Tetsukuri (clay art) is designing and making with hand, colorful and everlasting life-like flowers, bouquets, ornaments, accessories, dolls, wall hangings and other decorative objects in clay.
 
Bonsai is the art of growing miniature trees or plants in tray-like containers as if they were in the  natural scenery. A ‘Bon’ is a tray-like pot usually used in bonsai culture. ‘Sai’ means trees and plants grown in the ‘bon’. Various techniques including leaf trimming, pruning and wiring are used to create unique bonsais, the release added. All these events aim at providing an opportunity for Chennaiites to know more about Japanese culture and to strengthen the mutual understanding and friendly relationship between Japan and India.
 
Masanori Nakano, Consul-General of Japan at Chennai, will inaugurate the festival on Friday at ABK-AOTS Dosokai, Tamilnadu Centre, No 37 (110), Nelson Manickam Road, III Floor, Aminjikarai. The exhibition will be open from 10 am to 7 pm and entry is free.

Isuzu Motors India confirm Rs 1,500 crore investment on new plant

Commercial vehicle and truck manufacturers from Japan, Isuzu Motors have confirmed investment plans for a new manufacturing unit in Andhra Pradesh. This Greenfield manufacturing plant will roll out pickup trucks, light commercial vehicles and SUVs. It will involve an investment of INR 1,500 crores spread over a period of 5 to 7 years.

The upcoming plant will have installed capacity of 1.2 lakh units annually, out of which 1/4th will be exclusively for exports. Isuzu Motors have signed agreements with Andhra Pradesh government and the plant will be set up at Sri City in Chittoor’s SEZ.

The company has its headquarters in Tokyo with manufacturing plants in both Thailand and China from where Isuzu Motors conducts its export operations to over 100 countries worldwide. Location in Andhra Pradesh is hoped to attract suppliers and component manufacturers in much the same way as when Toyota opened its Karnataka plant which helped to draw over 150 auto component manufacturers. Sri City is in close proximity to Chennai where auto related industries abound. It is also close to ports which aid in export and import operations.


Initially, Isuzu Motors will produce pickup truck D-MAX and the MU-7 SUV from the new Andhra Pradesh plant, both have been launched in India. In the meantime, till 2015, the company is hoping to commence marketing operations from facilities of another auto company, bringing in their products in CKD form from Thailand.

Made in India, Sold in Japan

WHEN Kabir Khan's Ek Tha Tiger premiered last week in Osaka, Japan, it was a "totally different experience" for the filmmaker. The audience was not familiar with the lead actors Salman Khan or Katrina Kaif. Yet, they cheered for Salman when he beat up the baddies. "They are not aware of the stars but wanted to know more about the ISI and RAW agents," says Kabir, who will release 30 prints of his film across Japan on April 20.

Last week, Farah Khan's Om Shanti Om, too, premiered to a grand reception in Japan. Fifteen prints of the movie released across the country. On April 20, Bollywood films such as 3 Idiots, Don 2, Stanley Ka Dabba and Jab Tak Hai Jaan, with as many as 30 prints for each, will release in Japan. The releases will take place in nine major cities of Japan such as Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Sapporo and Kobe. "The Japanese are not really aware of Bollywood films. They only know that all our films have some amount of song and dance in them, and we adhere to heightened emotions," says Kabir.

The sudden resurgence of Bollywood in Japan is a result of the efforts of Japanese distribution company Nikkatsu. Aki Sugihara, Executive Vice-president of Nikkatsu, aims to make Bollywood films accessible in Japan by dubbing or subtitling them into Japanese. The distribution company, to test waters, is releasing films from different genres. Sameer Rao, CEO, Vinod Chopra Films, says, "For a while, Indian films have been releasing all over Asia and been doing well. For instance, when we released 3 Idiots in Taiwan, it was a huge hit. This prompted us to take it to South Korea as well as China. The release in Japan now is a case of natural progression."

Bollywood's first tryst with Japan happened when Joy Mukherjee shot his film Love in Tokyo in 1966. In spite of the film's success, Japan never picked up as a popular shooting location. Bollywood filmmakers instead chose Europe and America as more convenient choices, since most of them were familiar with those.

Similarly, the releases too became a major affair in these two continents. In the '90s, Rajinikanth's Muthu, which released under the title The Dancing Maharaja, became a runaway success in Japan. The Japanese then became more curious about Indian culture, films in particular. A series of Rajinikanth's films followed, which went on to become big hits. Rao says, "This seems to be a progression from the Rajinikanth phase. They have seen a certain kind of cinema and, as the distributors tell us, the people there are now keen to know about other genres of Bollywood films."

Films are a great way to connect with another country. Amole Gupte, director and producer of Stanley Ka Dabba, says, "It's a way of getting in touch with each other's culture and stories. For a long time, Bollywood has been wanting to spread its wings to various countries. With Japan, we are reaching out to a newer culture."

Elder Pharma, Kose Corp form JV to sell cosmetics in India

Drug firm Elder Pharmaceuticals on Tuesday said it has formed a joint venture with Japan’s Kose Corporation to manufacture and sell cosmetics in India.

Kose will hold 60 per cent stake in the JV — Kose Elder (India) Pvt Ltd — while Elder will have the rest, Elder Pharma said in a statement.

 

“Kose products will be produced in the existing plant of Elder Pharmaceuticals in Paonta Sahib in Himachal Pradesh,” Elder Pharma Joint Managing Director Alok Saxena said.

The company is looking at getting the project on-stream in the next three months, he added.

 

Saxena said: “The initial investments could run into couple of million dollars. We have not finalised business plan as yet, but we are looking at giving them complete support of manufacturing and distribution in Indian market.”

 

He added that the JV will manufacture all kinds of skin care products including creams, lotions and ointment.

“We plan to bring their top-end products in the Indian market using our distribution and manufacturing support they will be able to do well in Indian market. Our incremental revenues could run between Rs 30-40 crore in the first year,” Saxena said.

 

Kose Corporation is one of the leading Japanese cosmetic companies.

Elder Pharma scrip closed at Rs 304.50 on the BSE, down 1.46 per cent from the previous close.

Reliance Entertainment sells rights of 3 films to Japan

In a move that breaks the long impasse of any Indian film releasing in Japan in a big way, Reliance Entertainment has sold the distribution rights of 3 Idiots, Don 2 and Makkhi for their International release in Japan. This deal was inked at the Mumbai Film Mart held in 2012 under the aegis of Mumbai Film Festival.

The release of India's highest grossing film may well mark the opening up of Japan as a significant territory in the international distribution of Hindi movies.

Japan's oldest production and distribution company Nikkatsu will release the first two films in Japan in summer this year and Unplugged Inc. will release the animated creature film in autumn. The Aamir Khan-starrer will see the widest ever release for a Hindi movie in Japan on 18 May in approximately 50 screens.

Commented Reliance Entertainment, CEO, Sanjeev Lamba, "Reliance Entertainment broke fresh ground in the international markets with a tie-up with Nikkatsu- Japan's oldest & century old movie studio. Nikkatsu will release Reliance Entertainment's top grossing film of all time internationally - 3 IDIOTS & the third ranking international grosser of all time DON-2. This initiative of Reliance Entertainment should pave the way for opening up of Japan as a major international market for Indian films in the future".

The Japanese companies are determined to make the release of Indian films a success in order to grow the market and build long term relations. Strategizing for the same, they collaborated with the Indian Embassy in Japan and for the first time ever an international media contingent was sent to Mumbai for the promotions of these films back home.

This contingent comprised representatives from Television, Radio, Press, Magazine and online website. They had very candid and detailed interviews with Rajkumar Hirani, Priyanka Chopra, producer Ritesh Sidhwani talking about their body of work, future projects, and specifically on the Japanese release of their films.

Olympus Launches 8 New Cameras in India; Tough TG-2, XZ-2, XZ-10 and More

Olympus has launched eight new cameras in India, including its Tough series flagship model TG-2 Tough compact digital camera, which hit the stores in many countries last month.

 

Other camera models Olympus released in India are XZ-2, XZ-10, SZ-16, SH-50, VG-165, VG-180 and VG-190.
"Much has been said of India being a price sensitive country. Today, we at Olympus, having interacted with Indian consumers can firmly say that they are willing to consider a premium, provided the product is of exceptional quality, both style-and-substance-wise" said Kenichiro Mori, Managing Director, Olympus Imaging India Private Limite.
"We have placed our faith in advanced point-and-shoot this year as we see consumers evolving to ask for a product which is a combination of exceptional photoquality and amazing style. We want to be at the forefront of that race." 

Toshiaki Gomi, Director & Board Member, Olympus Imaging Corp, said at the launch event that they entered Indian market to cater to the needs the younger generation.

"India has traditionally had a slower rate of adoption of new technology than some other regions such as Europe, the Americas or Japan. But being a young country demographically, this trend is rapidly reversing. Keeping this in mind, we launched products which are futuristic, yet are firmly anchored in needs of consumers," said Gomi.