LONDON — When Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada was in Delhi a few days back for the fourth round of strategic dialogue between Japan and India, he made it clear that negotiations on a civilian nuclear cooperation pact are going to be rather difficult.
There are indications that these negotiations have stalled. It now looks unlikely that this pact will be signed during Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Japan in October as originally planned.
It was in June that India and Japan began discussions on the possibility of Japan signing a civil nuclear agreement with India. It was a significant move for Japan, which has long been critical of Indian nuclear policy. Though India-Japan ties have blossomed in recent years on a whole range of issues, the nuclear issue has been a major irritant in the relationship.