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Clearing the way for exports: Japan eyes nuclear deal with India
TOKYO — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to visit India around the end of this year to sign an atomic energy agreement with counterpart Narendra Modi, laying the groundwork for exports by Japanese corporations in that field.
Abe is considering a trip around December or January. A framework for preventing military use of nuclear materials and atomic power technologies is a prerequisite for Japanese companies to export related technologies to India.
India holds nuclear weapons but is not a signatory of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), so a focal point of negotiations between Japan and India was how to prevent the spread of nuclear technologies. The two sides are expected to agree on tight management of nuclear technologies on a par with the NPT.
Another obstacle to an agreement had been Indian laws that hold nuclear plant manufacturers partly liable in the event of nuclear accidents. In January, the U.S. and India agreed that an insurance framework created by India would cover damages related to accidents. Japan and India are seen reaching an agreement with conditions similar to the deal that Washington signed for such matters as the management of nuclear technologies and liability for damages.
India plans to build 40 nuclear reactors by 2032 to address its power shortage. With each reactor costing about 500 billion yen ($4 billion), the market is worth some 20 trillion yen. Construction of 30 reactors has already been allocated to the U.S., France and Russia. Japan is competing with such nations as China and South Korea for the remaining 10 or so. Toshiba‘s American unit Westinghouse Electric and an alliance between Hitachi and U.S. company General Electric hope to win orders.
Abe and Modi are also expected to discuss security cooperation. They will likely talk about holding “two-plus-two” meetings of foreign and defense ministers as well as agreeing to begin negotiations on an acquisition and cross-servicing agreement (ACSA), which will allow Japan’s Self-Defense Forces and the Indian military to provide supplies and medical assistance to each other.
The SDF’s ability to support armed forces of other countries has been expanded by the passage of security bills in the Diet, but an ACSA needs to be in place for such activities to take place. Japan’s ACSAs with the U.S. and Australia have already gone into effect. Japan reached a basic agreement for such an accord with Canada in September 2013 and confirmed with the U.K. in May 2014 that negotiations could begin.
(Nikkei)
Clearing the way for exports: Japan eyes nuclear deal with India
