Shinzo Abe, the former prime minister of Japan, was shot dead in western city of Nara while he was delivering a speech. Japan's longest-serving premier was shot by 41-year-old Yamagami Tetsuya, who was arrested from the spot. Although Abe, 67, stepped down from the position of prime minister in 2020 due to ill health, he was one of the key supporters of strong India-Japan ties. Abe was always a sturdy Indian ally and he accelerated the pace of the ‘Global Partnership between Japan and India’ that was laid in 2001. When Narendra Modi was elected as the prime minister of India in 2014, he paid an official visit to Japan and had a summit meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. They concurred to upgrade the bilateral relationship to “Special Strategic and Global Partnership.” In December 2015, Prime Minister Abe paid an official visit to India and had a summit meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The two leaders resolved to transform the Japan-India ‘Special Strategic and Global Partnership’ into a deep, broad-based and action-oriented partnership, which reflects a broad convergence of their long-term political, economic and strategic goals.
Japan has been one of the leading partners in initiatives launched by the government to aid local companies and to boost self-reliance. Several Japanese firms have relocated to India to support initiatives including ‘Make in India,’ ‘Start-up India,’ ‘Skill India,’ and ‘Digital India’. For those who are unaware, India has been the largest recipient of Japanese ODA Loan for the past decades. The Delhi Metro is one of the most successful examples of Japanese cooperation through the utilization of ODA. Under PM Abe, Japan and India had also committed to build High-Speed Railway in India by introducing Japan’s Shinkansen System, which is the flagship project of Japan-India relations.
During Abe’s tenure, Maruti Suzuki India also started to export the ‘Made in India’ premium hatchback Baleno to Japan. When Shinzo Abe visited India in 2017, he inaugurated Maruti Suzuki’s car manufacturing plant and Honda’s two-wheeler plant in Gujarat. Abe’s government also announced soft loans of Rs 1,000 crore for development of an industrial park at Sanand.
In 2018, Japan and India also agreed to closely work together on digital technology, using Japan’s hardware strength and software prowess of India to spur innovation. Since then the two nations have marked new feats in the fields of artificial intelligence, robotics and fifth-generation mobile communications.
When Shinzo Abe resigned as prime minister, Indian PM Modi called him a wise leader and lauded his efforts for deeper India-Japan ties. Even after leaving his post, Abe prayed for further enhancing the partnership between the countries. Shinzo Abe will surely be missed by Indians for his contributions towards the Indian economy, technology and defence.
