Netaji, India and a Rising Japan

Japan occupies a large space in Manmohan Singh’s heart, and he has logged enough frequent flyer miles to Tokyo to prove it. When he lands in Tokyo tomorrow, Singh is certain to get the kind of reception that will show Japan reciprocates in full measure.

 PM introduced a new element during the Depsang crisis with China to announce he would stay an extra day in Japan. While that in itself would not have scared the Chinese, the growing closeness between India and Japan has added new worry lines to Beijing. Not a bad thing, both for India and Japan, eventhough the “softies” in the UPA carry a fatal attraction for China and Pakistan.

Japan has the kind of technological and innovation heft Indianeeds in spades. Acknowledging this, PM once famously listed three of India’s relationships he described as “transformational” US, Japan and Germany that if India used these relationships wisely, they could help transform our nation. And then he fell silent.

With Shinzo Abe back in power in Japan with a convincingmandate and a will to resuscitate Japan from its “lost decades”India has a unique opportunity. Over the next couple of days, PM will see a lot of economic talk. Abenomics  Abe’s three step plan to revive Japanese economy appears to be working, despite possible pitfalls in the future. Japan’s flagship investment in India DMIC and a new Bangalore-Chennai corridor should revive India’s manufacturing fortunes. So far, India has made the right noises, and even been helpful.

But it will be in the area of security and the strategic future of Asia that the two countries can make a difference. Its time India came out of the closet to strengthen other countries in the region, Indonesia, Vietnam and the real power in Asia, Japan.

India should not waste its time looking for Japanese endorsement for Kashmir or Arunachal Pradesh from Japan, though many officials will tell you this is why we’re kindareticent with them. Instead India should be more helpful on the Senkaku/Diaoyu issue because if China gets away with one, it will be unstoppable everywhere else.

With Abe, the prospect of reopening the nuclear story is brighter the upper house elections in July will signal if his nuclear ambition has popular approval. That should signal India to resume civ-nuke negotiations, a Japanese deal is imperative for India to buy nuclear reactors or supplies from France, US, pretty much everybody.

The high seas will be where India and Japan will really bond.The two countries will do Malabar-type exercises off the Arabian Sea, and India will buy Japan’s first military export US2, possibly the world’s best search and rescue amphibious aircraft for the high seas. India is doing it for the wrong reasons, scared of China, India opted out of quadrilateral exercise, instead going for small scale bilaterals.

Cooperating on the seas was Abe’s vision in the first place. Speaking in Delhi in 2011, when he was out of power, he said simply, “Please let your navy meet the Japanese naval force more often at sea...Our two navies can exchange flag signals. They can speak with each other ... The Americans may watch us performing small exercises, which is OK with all of us. Even the Chinese may fly over us to see what is going on, which is more than welcome.” Indian ships now hang out with the Japanese in their naval base in Djibouti. India should welcome the Japanese in the Andaman-Nicobar Islands. These islands are crucial, not merely as India’s security posts, but also to maintain security of sea lanes on the Straits of Malacca, and freedom of navigation in South China Sea.

If India is looking East, Japan is looking west. The natural meeting point is Myanmar, where both countries have invested heavily to keep this country from falling into a Chinese honey-trap. This is a good news story of two Asian giants helping Myanmar out of the suds, keeping its dignity intact and securing our strategic future. Its a no-brainer, and needs South Block to engage more fully with Japan’s foreign office. Japanese officials complain Indiadoesn’t give them the time of day. Manmohan Singh should change that.

Abe’s big move will be on changing Japan’s constitution. He wants to change Article 9 (known as the pacifist clause) to make the SDF into a normal military. The fact that China has increased its military spending 30 times in the last 23 years should be ample reason. The potential change has divided Japanese society and is scaring the daylights out of China and even US.

India, so vocal on strategic autonomy should pause before accepting the western narrative. Thanks to NetajiSubhash Chandra Bose and INA, India has a different historical narrative of a military Japan. India may not  becalled upon to bare its heart on the issue, but India should be clear which side of the debate it should be on. A stronger Japan is good for India.

Indian PM embarks on 5-day visit to Japan, Thailand

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday embarked on a five-day visit to Japan and Thailand, saying that the tour is aimed at giving a new dimension to India's "Look East" policy.

"My visits to Japan and Thailand will add depth and new meaning to our 'Look East' policy and contribute to peace, prosperity and stability in the Asia-Pacific region," said Singh who will be in Japan for the first three days before going to Thailand Thursday.

Saying that his Japan visit would invigorate New Delhi's relations with Tokyo in the political, security and energy spheres, the Indian prime minister noted, "We will explore ways to harness the full potential of our Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Partnership by intensifying and balancing our two-way trade and investment linkages."

"There is a growing congruence in our interests and I see this relationship as an essential component of our vision for enduring stability and prosperity in Asia," he added.

Singh called Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe his "good friend" and said that he "will build on the momentum imparted by successive summits to the India-Japan Strategic and Global Partnership."

"The visit will also allow the two governments to take stock of the progress in flagship projects in our partnership, like the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor and the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, and to facilitate bilateral engagement for meaningful and mutually beneficial association," he said in his departure statement.

Singh, who is accompanied by his wife, is also scheduled to meet the Japanese Emperor and Empress during their visit. "As on every previous visit to Japan, I look forward to a gracious audience with Their Majesties the Emperor and the Empress of Japan, " he said.

Talking about his scheduled meeting with Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra in Bangkok during the last leg of his visit, Singh said, "Thailand is an important bilateral partner as well as a regional leader situated at the heart of ASEAN. During my talks with Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, I will carry forward the new dynamics in our relations since her milestone visit to India as the Chief Guest at our Republic Day in 2012."

"Thailand and India share centuries-old people-to-people, cultural and spiritual ties. Being maritime neighbors, we also share common interests in maritime security. Our defense and security cooperation with Thailand is progressing well and it will be my effort to further enhance it during my visit."

Japan, India to discuss military plane sales during PM Manmohan Singh's visit to Tokyo

Japan is close to signing an agreement to supply amphibious planes to India, a report said Monday, in what would be the first sale of hardware used by the military since a weapons export ban was imposed.

During a four-day visit to Tokyo by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, starting later Monday, the two sides are set firm up plans for Delhi to purchase the US-2, a domestically-developed aircraft used by Japan's armed forces.

The sale, reported by the Nikkei business daily, would be the first of a finished product made by Japan's homegrown defence industry since rules were imposed restricting the export of weapons systems and other equipment.

It would also mark a strengthening of the alliance between Japan and India, which both see rising China as a threat to regional stability.

Experts say the aircraft must be classed as for civilian use if it is to comply with Japan's 1967 self-imposed ban on arms exports, part of the post-World War II anti-militarist drive.

The US-2, which was developed by ShinMaywa Industries and has been sold to the Japanese navy at a price tag of roughly 10 billion yen ($99 million), has a range of 4,700 kilometres (2,900 miles) and can land in seas with waves of up to three metres (nine feet).

"If the US-2 is exported to India for civilian use, that would be the first case of exports of Japanese-developed weaponry used by the defence ministry for civilian use," a trade ministry official in charge of arms sales told AFP.

ShinMaywa opened a sales office in New Delhi last year and has been promoting the plane there, a spokesman for the company said.

"We hear there is some demand from the Indian government but decline to comment further as we have yet to reach a contract," he added. The Nikkei said India is looking to acquire at least 15 of the aircraft.

Japan has sought to expand the market for its defence industry. It has previously exported technology or parts of military hardware, but has not sold any finished products.

The plane could be deemed to have a non-military -- for example, search and rescue -- purpose if "friend-or-foe" identification systems were disabled, officials said, making it eligible for export.

In 2011 Tokyo eased the decades-old ban on arms exports, paving the way for Japanese firms to take part in multinational weapons projects.

The reported talks on sales "are based on policy decisions made a few years ago that Japan has to support its defence industry by diverting military technology to civilian use for export", said Takehiko Yamamoto, professor of international relations at Waseda University.

Otherwise, major Japanese firms such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Kawasaki Heavy Industries "will not able to maintain their pool of engineers to develop military technology that is essential for the defence of Japan", he said.

Boosting exports from Japan's manufacturing behemoths is a key part of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's plan to revive the economy.

Abe and Singh are scheduled to meet on Wednesday for a summit expected to concentrate on trade and investment.

Yamaha says India to be among its top five markets by 2016

Japanese two wheeler giant Yamaha today said it expects the Indian market to become one of its top five markets by 2016 as it plans to roll out "many products" in the volume-driven mass segment here.

The company, which started procuring parts from India last year for its global operations, is also looking to make the country as its important component sourcing hub in the coming years.

"Indian market is very big and it's most important for us. Two wheeler sales volume here is gradually increasing. It will become our top five markets by 2016," Yamaha Motor Co (YMC) President and CEO Hiroyuki Yanagi told PTI in an interview here.

The company's wholly owned subsidiary India Yamaha Motor (IYM) had sold a total of 4.9 lakh units in 2012 and is at present among the top 10 operations of Yamaha globally.

YMC had clocked net sales of 1.3 trillion yen last year and is targeting to increase it to 1.4 trillion yen this year, Yanagi said.

He, however, did not share how much revenue India contributed last year.

"In 2016, our aim is to have a net sales of 2 trillion yen globally. We expect India to contribute significantly by then," he said.

In the mid term, the company is eyeing a share of 10% in India by 2016, when the market is pegged to be around 18 million units.

Asked about the company's strategy going forward, Yanagi said IYM will launch more two wheelers in the volume driven commuter segment.

"We will launch many products in this category. Our plan is to introduce 2-3 products every year," Yanagi said.

Last month IYM had said it is working towards rolling out a 100 cc or above category motorcycle priced at around USD 500 from India with the setting up of its fifth global research and development centre.

Talking about its sourcing plans, Yanagi said: "From last year, we have started procuring components from India for our other operations. It's negligible now, but we aim to source a significant amount of parts from here in future."

YMC has four global parts procurement centres -- India, Japan, China and the ASEAN region.

IYM today rolled out a new variant of its only scooter 'Ray'. The new variant 'Ray Z' is priced at Rs 48,555 (ex showroom, Delhi).

The company is targeting to sell 5,000 units of Ray Z every month, in addition to 9,000-10,000 units of Ray.

Beside, two new versions of its motorcycle SZ, priced at Rs 59,500 and Rs 62,500 (ex showroom, Delhi) were also launched today.

IYM is looking to sell 7.1 lakh units of motorcycles and scooters this year. This includes 2.1 lakh for exports.

The company's long-term target is to sell a total of 28 lakh units by 2018.

Last year, Yamaha had announced investment of Rs 1,500 crore to set up its third facility in India. The production at the new plant near Chennai will start by 2014 with an initial annual capacity of 4 lakh units, which will be expanded to 18 lakh units by 2018.

IYM has two manufacturing units at Surajpur in Uttar Pradesh and Faridabad in Haryana. While the Surajpur plant produces motorcycles for both domestic and export markets, the Faridabad unit makes two-wheeler parts.

Daiichi considering legal actions against Ranbaxy promoters

There are indications that Japan's Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd, which owns India based drug maker Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd, is considering legal action against former promoters of the company in order to recover the $500 million in fines that it had to pay to the US Food and Drug Administration for setting civil and criminal charges against the company.

Daiichi Sankyo said in a statement that the promoters revealed details about the criminal investigation initiated by the US department of justice and the drug regulator against Ranbaxy after several years since Daiichi acquired Ranbaxy in 2008. It also claimed that the Ranbaxy promoters concealed critical information at the time of the acquisition deal. Daiichi also said that it has spent $300 million in order to upgrade the company's compliance standards and also correct wrong acts of the previous management.

"Daiichi Sankyo believes that certain former shareholders of Ranbaxy concealed and misrepresented critical information concerning the US DoJ and FDA investigations. Daiichi Sankyo is currently pursuing its available legal remedies and cannot comment further on the subject at this time," Daiichi Sankyo said a statement on Wednesday.

Nissan India recalls Micra hatchback and Sunny sedan

Following the global Micra recall for the hatchback manufactured by Nissan UK and Nissan Japan, the car maker’s recall attention is now focused on India. The made-in-India Nissan Micra hatchback and Sunny sedan have come under the recall scanner and as many as 67,089 Micras and Sunnys have been recalled from across the globe. In India, Nissan has issued a recall for 22,188 units of the Micra and the Sunny built at the Oragadam factory, off Chennai.

2013 Nissan Sunny Special Edition Sedan

The recall is to fix the fault brake master cylinder on the cars. Dealers have been issued a recall notice and customers will in turn be contacted to bring in their cars for the replacement of the brake master cylinder free of cost.  Nissan’s best selling cars in the Indian car market are the Micra hatchback and the Sunny sedan. Both cars are available with petrol and turbo diesel engines.

Nissan Micra Hatchback

Apart from selling the Micra and Sunny in the Indian car market, Nissan exports a large number of these cars to many countries across the world. In fact, Nissan India exports more made-in-India Nissan cars than what it sells in India. So, the recall to replace the faulty master cylinder has global ramifications.  It must be noted that many car makers such as Honda, Nissan, Toyota and Maruti Suzuki do not hesitate to call a spade, a spade, and use the word recall to fix issues in their cars.

Indian auto makers such as Tata Motors, Mahindra and Bajaj Auto continue to substitute the word “recall” with terms such as “product improvements”, etc. Any which ways, cars being recalled pro-actively is a step that is beneficial to the car buyer as safety hazard are identified and eliminated through these recalls. The SIAM(Society of Indian Auto Manufacturers), a lobbying body of the Indian automotive industry have instituted a voluntary recall code for automakers.

Nissan looking to triple sales in India this fiscal

Nissan Motors India, a subsidiary of Japan’s Nissan Motor Co, is looking to almost triple its sales in the domestic market to about 1 lakh vehicles in FY14 against the 37,000-units sold during the previous financial year.

“We have new models coming in, and we are going to increase the number of dealers,” said Kenichiro Yomura, President of Nissan’s India operations. “We need to improve our marketing communications,” he added.

During the year, the company will launch four models — two refresher models and two new models — of which one will be from its Datsun brand. The first launch could be as early as July, said Yomura. He, who is also the Managing Director and CEO of Nissan Motors India Pvt Ltd (NMIPL), added that the company will increase its dealer network to 145 by the end of this fiscal. As of March 31, 2013, the automaker’s dealer network stood at 95.

The plan is part of the company’s ambitious target of garnering 10 per cent of the domestic passenger vehicles market by the turn of FY17.

Currently, NMIPL sells six models in India. It manufactures the hatchback Micra, the sedan Sunny and the MPV Evalia at its Chennai plant, which has an installed capacity of 4 lakh units a year. It imports the other three models — the premium sedan Tenea, the high-end SUV X-Trail and the luxury sedan 370Z.

NMIPL, which exported about 1.30 lakh vehicles in FY13, expects to maintain that number during the current fiscal as well.

Nissan, Japan's third largest automaker, will also look at investments in improving its production capacity in India, from the existing 4 lakh units of installed capacity.

On the relationship with Hover Automotive, which has been handling the key functions of sales, after-sales service and marketing, he said the company would continue to work with it. However, he ruled out picking up a stake in Hover.

On the impact of the global recall of Micra following some brake glitches, Yomura said the company has so far received only nine complaints. It had sold 35,000 Micras in the domestic market.