Torn between economic gains and a national credo of abolishing nuclear weapons as the only country struck by them, Japan faces a dilemma in negotiating a civilian nuclear cooperation pact with India.
The three-day visit by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh once again highlights Japan's ambivalent feelings toward the proposed pact, which would allow Japanese firms to export nuclear power generation technology and related equipment to India.
Tokyo has been negotiating a legal framework for peaceful use and transfer of nuclear-power technologies with other energy-hungry emerging nations, but India's case is unique because it has nuclear weapons but refuses to sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.