In the meeting with Indian Prime Minister,
Narendra Modi, Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, signed a deal for exporting
technology on nuclear power generation on Friday. It was the second time for
Japan to have nuclear agreement with a country out of the regulatory pact of
Non-proliferation Treaty, following the deal with China in 1985. There was no
explanation about why a country that had suffered from nuclear devastation had
to proliferate nuclear technology to a country that was defying international effort
to eliminate that inhumane weapon.
After severe accident in First Fukushima
Nuclear Power Plant five years ago, the government of Japan laid strict
regulation on developing nuclear technology, even if it would be for “peaceful”
use. Meeting requirement of the business related to nuclear technology,
Japan-India Nuclear agreement enables Japan exporting nuclear reactor and
related devices or nuclear fuel, exchanging nuclear experts, exercising mutual
development of atomic energy for peaceful purposes, and cooperating with India
for studies on radiation in agriculture or medical science.
For the new deal, Japanese government
insisted on setting a condition not to be used for military purposes. Japan
side announced that the agreement would be suspended, if India had a nuclear
experiment. “This is a legal framework to assure India taking responsible
action for peaceful use of atomic energy,” said Abe in the joint press
conference after the meeting with Modi.
The regulation was not written in the sentences
of the deal, but in an annexed document called “Official Document on
Recognition and Understanding.” The document recognizes nuclear test moratorium
of India in 2008 as indispensable basis of the deal and allows Japan to end the
agreement when any change in the moratorium occurs. However, India maintains
its standpoint that nuclear development is its own right. Modi did not refer to
the condition in the conference.
In the new diplomatic policy called Free
and Open Strategy in Indian and Pacific Ocean, Abe designated Japan and India
to be the leaders in making Asia-Pacific region a place for freedom, rule of
law and market economy. It is inevitably a counter action against the advance
of China to the region. In the situation of weaker influence of United States
under the leadership of Donald Trump, Japan needs to make closer relationship
with India to face China.
Sufferers from nuclear devastation were
disappointed with the deal. Five organizations of nuclear sufferers in Nagasaki
sent a protesting document that questioned why the only country victimized by
nuclear weapons could have such a deal with India. Protestors gathered in front
of Prime Minister’s official resident in Tokyo to demand not to sell nuclear
power plant to foreign countries. The deal can be going beyond moral obligation
of a nuclear suffered nation.
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