Japan as a Developmental Partner in Northeast India

Keywords: Japan, Northeast India, Indo-Pacific, Connectivity, Bay of Bengal, BIMSTEC

Date: 14th Feb 2024

Japan’s historical ties with India’s Northeast during the Second World War left an enduring emotional connection. However, Northeast India didn’t get much attention in Indo-Japan engagements until a few years ago. It was only about a decade ago that Northeast India began to appear frequently in official dialogues between the two countries. 

Throughout the Cold War, India and Japan positioned themselves on opposite sides of the geopolitical poles. Except for some cooperation in the areas of science and technology, India-Japan relations were limited. It was only in the mid-1990s that the two countries expanded their engagements and soon Japan became one of the top developmental and strategic partners in India, especially since the 2000s. 

At this juncture, connecting Southeast Asia with South Asia started gaining importance as part of Japan’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP). Meanwhile, India’s Act East Policy (AEP) that was unveiled in 2014 found a lot of synergy with Japan’s FOIP. Given its geostrategic location, Northeast India naturally became the prime attention between the two countries’ engagements since then. 

In September 2014, during Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Japan, both Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe affirmed their commitment to cooperating in the infrastructure development of Northeast India. In accordance with this commitment, Prime Minister Abe announced that Tokyo would provide an ODA loan for road connectivity projects in Assam, Mizoram, and Meghalaya in December 2015. 

The Northeastern region plays a key role in India’s AEP. As a point of convergence between India’s AEP and Japan’s FOIP, the Northeastern region of India has emerged as a primary area of cooperation between the two Asian powers. In the past, India has never accepted the involvement of foreign countries in the development of its Northeast region.  

Japan is the first foreign development partner allowed to take up major projects in the region. In 2017, the governments of Japan and India launched the Act East Forum to engage in close discussions and emphasize efforts towards the development of India’s Northeastern region and to promote connectivity within the region and between the region and Southeast Asia. The projects currently underway with the assistance of Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Northeastern states are shown in Figure 1.

Source: Embassy of Japan in India

The present Japanese Prime Minister Kishida has been continuing the legacy of Shinzo Abe. In fact, the former has played a crucial role in shaping Japan’s renewed focus on Northeast India as foreign minister during the latter’s administration. 

During Prime Minister Kishida’s visit to India, it was announced about the “India-Japan initiative for sustainable development of the North Eastern Region of India,” which included an “Initiative for strengthening Bamboo Value Chains in the North East” and cooperation in the areas of agriculture, tourism, healthcare, forest resource management, connectivity, Skill India, renewable energy, disaster relief, only to reinvigorate their partnership further in the Northeastern region. 

Japan plans to develop value chain links in the Bay of Bengal region to transform the region into a single industrial zone. In the words of H.E. Amb. Satoshi Suzuki, “Japan is proud of being a reliable and staunch partner for the Northeast region based on our historical ties, trust, and friendship. The shining example of our assistance to the region is the North-East Road Connectivity Project, which will greatly benefit Meghalaya and enhance connectivity with Assam and Bangladesh.” 

The Bay of Bengal-Northeast India Industrial Value Chain concept promoted by Japan is part of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific region. In this regard, developing and strengthening the cross-border transport connectivity between Northeast India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal and Bhutan becomes essential.  

For instance, Japan has taken up various road and rail projects and deep-sea ports (Matarbari port in Bangladesh) in the Bay of Bengal region. Few Japanese companies have begun to invest in the state of Assam and a Japanese industrial township has been planned in Kamrup district of Assam.

Figure 2: Japan’s Grant Assistance in Northeast India

Source: Embassy of Japan in India

Japan is also cooperating to connect Northeast India with Southeast Asia. In this regard, JICA has been extending financial support to upgrade the national highways (NH) that could build connectivity with Myanmar. For instance, the upgradation of NH between Aizawl and Tuipang in Mizoram is supported by JICA. This highway connects the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project that links India and Myanmar.

Japan also aims to support and develop cultural and people-to-people ties between the two countries and this has become the core element of the bilateral partnership. Since 2018, Japan has been actively supporting the annual Cherry Blossom Festival organized by the government of Meghalaya. Similarly, the government of Japan has been inviting promising youth from the Northeastern region to Japan under the IRIS program annually. 

Since 2021, the Japanese Embassy in India has been co-hosting an annual “Indo-Japan Intellectual Conclave” along with Asian Confluence, a premier think tank in Northeast India. This Conclave aims to connect both countries’ intellectuals, policymakers, academicians, and entrepreneurs to streamline and accelerate Japan’s development cooperation in Northeast India. 

India remains the number-one recipient country of Japan’s ODA, most of which is spent on connectivity-related projects. Japan’s involvement in developmental projects in the strategically important region indicates the level of trust between the two countries. As India and Japan jointly develop infrastructure in the Northeast region, this should provide the base to deepen and expand their development partnership in the region.  

The ability to keep up the momentum going is critical in the partnership. The role of state governments of the Northeast region also plays a key role. At the same time, initiating regular dialogues between Japan and the BIMSTEC members can also strengthen the effort in connecting South Asia with Southeast Asia, in which Northeast India occupies a central position. 

Prasanna Kumar is a Senior Research Analyst and Program Coordinator at Asian Confluence and is pursuing his PhD from the Jindal School of International Affairs, O.P. Jindal Global University

Disclaimer: The views expressed above and the information available  are those of the author/s and can therefore in no way be taken to reflect the position of Asian Confluence