The Democratic Party of Japan has won a landslide victory in the elections on Sunday, ending 50 years of almost unbroken rule by the Liberal Democratic Party, the BBC has said.
The news that came on the evening of the Hatoyama visit that India has become the most important destination for Japanese investment, as it has been for Japanese aid, defines the new tenor of the relationship.
After his talks with Japanese counterpart Yukio Hatoyama, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he requested him to ensure that Japanese visa system becomes more liberal to enable growth of trade investment and people-to-people contact.
Hatoyama is the first Japanese PM to visit India in 25 years.
India and Japan are close to finalising a civil nuclear cooperation agreement, former Japanese prime minister Yukio Hatoyama said in New Delhi on Monday."India and Japan have come to a stage of concluding the nuclear cooperation agreement," said Hatoyama, a key leader of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan.He hoped India would uphold its unilateral moratorium on nuclear tests and underscored the sensitivity Japanese people attach to it.
Both countries have denied that enhanced cooperation among them is aimed at curbing growing Chinese influence in the region, but Hatoyama's hurriedly arranged visit to New Delhi indicates that he wants to keep the two major democracies actively engaged
Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday ruled out an immediate withdrawal of the stimulus packages, but cautioned that too much delay in the exit would widen the fiscal deficit.
Setting the tone for their substantive talks on Tuesday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Japanese counterpart Yukio Hatoyama on Monday night had an overview of bilateral relations and international issues at a private dinner hosted by the Indian leader.
This would allow Japanese companies to invest directly in India, rather than the current norm of coming through Singapore and Mauritius.
US President Barack Obama will embark on his maiden trip to Asia mid-November when he will travel to China, Japan, Singapore and South Korea. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said that Japan will be the first stop in his four-nation sojourn beginning November 11.
India has to catch up with East Asian regional economic integration.
If one were to go by the latest manifesto, Hatoyama's world consists essentially of Japan, the US, China, South Korea, North Korea (all mentioned by name) and "other countries". India has been relegated to the position of one of the "other countries".
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