Japan and India have very good reasons to forge closer ties. They are both democracies and share fundamental values. With proper attention, their economic relationship, which has been stunted, can grow to their mutual benefit. They share security concerns: stability in Central Asia and the Mideast, access to energy, secure trade and sea lanes, and stable relations among all East Asian nations.
Notice what was not mentioned in that list: China. There is the argument, usually made quietly, that Tokyo and Delhi should cooperate to "contain" China and counter its rise. The logic is implicit in the call for "a concert of democracies," now made with increasing frequency. But a Japan-India relationship that defines itself in opposition to China would be a mistake.
Chief among Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's chores on his first trip to India is developing a road map that will put meat on the bones of the strategic partnership announced during Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Tokyo in December. Both countries seek real progress in economic relations. Indian statistics put Japan's trade with India at about $6.5 billion last year, just 4 percent of Japan's trade with China. Japanese investment in India has doubled from $254.7 million in 2005 to $515.5 million in 2006, and both countries expect dramatic increases.