Arun Jaitley visit to Japan 2017

On 4^th September 2017, Mr.Arun Jaitley left to Japan for a two day visit. This is his last visit to Japan as a defence minister as Ms.Nirmala Sitharaman has been appointed as the new defence minister of India. The new defence minister should have gone for the visit but due to logistical constraints Mr.Arun Jaitley went for it.

Arun Jaitley’s meeting with Japanese Defence minister:

1. Mr.Arun Jaitley met Japanese Defence minister Mr.Itsunori Onodera as a part of the India-Japan annual defence ministerial dialogue in Tokyo.
2.  A range of bilateral and regional issues relating to security and defence were discussed in the meeting.
3. During the meeting issues relating to the US-2 amphibious aircraft were also figured out.
4. The two sides also agreed to commence technical discussions for research collaboration in the areas of Unmanned Ground Vehicles and Robotics. 
5. India plans to buy the US-2 ShinMaywa aircraft from Japan for its navy. Last year, China had reacted angrily to reports that Japan plans to sell weapons to India at cheaper prices, saying that such a move is disgraceful.
6. The two sides also agreed to ramp up counter-terror cooperation, besides deepening engagement among navies, air forces and ground forces of the two countries.
7. “The Ministers exchanged views and ideas with the aim to further strengthen defence and security cooperation under the framework of the ‘Japan-lndia Special Strategic and Global Partnership’,” a statement said today.
8. It said Mr.Arun Jaitley and Mr.Itsunori Onodera deliberated on the current security situation in the Indo-Pacific region and condemned in the strongest terms North Korea’s latest nuclear test and called upon the country to cease such action which adversely impacts peace and stability of the region and beyond.
9. Reviewing bilateral defence ties, they commended the progress made in discussions to identify specific areas of collaboration in the field of defence equipment and technology cooperation for production of various military platforms.
10. “They noted the effort made by both countries regarding the cooperation on US-2 amphibious aircraft,” said the statement.
11. The ministers endorsed the importance of enhancing interaction between governments and defence industries of the two countries to encourage collaboration, including for defence and dual-use technologies.
12. In the meeting, Mr.Arun Jaitley briefed about India’s policy reforms in the defence manufacturing sectors, saying the country offers huge opportunities for foreign industries to play an active role.
13. Seeking to further intensify naval cooperation, Mr.Onodera expressed his intention to have state-of-the-art Japanese assets, including P-1 maritime patrol aircraft to participate in next year’s trilateral Malabar naval exercise which also involves the US Navy.
14. “The two sides will consider inclusion of Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) training to expand cooperation. In addition the ministers agreed to pursue exchanges and training by ASW aviation units such as P-3C,” the statement said. P-3C is an anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft.
15. The Japanese side proposed to invite Indian Navy personnel to mine-countermeasures training held by it.
16. At the talks, the two sides also welcomed the constructive engagement between Japan’s Acquisition,Technology and Logistic Agency (ATLA) and India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

Arun Jaitley’s meeting with Japanese Prime Minister:

1. Mr.Arun Jaitley met Japanese Prime Minister Mr.Shinzo Abe.
2. They discussed ways to deepening defence and security co- operation.
3. In the meeting, Mr.Jaitley conveyed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s greetings to Mr.Shinzo Abe.

About Japan:

1. Capital – Tokyo
2. Currency – Japanese Yen
3. Prime minister: Mr.Shinzo Abe
4. Defence minister – Mr.Itsunori Onodera
5. Official language – Japanese