India and Japan are moving forward on a deal for Tokyo to provide nuclear plant technology to New Delhi despite widespread worries about safety after the March 11 disaster triggered by a massive tsunami.
Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba told reporters on Saturday that the agreement was reached in a meeting in Tokyo with his Indian counterpart SM Krishna to move forward on the nuclear plant deal. The government has been checking on the safety of nuclear power plants in Japan after the March 11 tsunami destroyed backup generators and sent three reactors at Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant into meltdown.
The pact would allow Tokyo to export its cutting-edge nuclear technology to the energy-hungry India, a hotly contested market for atomic plants. But negotiations on the deal have stalled after the March 11 quake and tsunami in northeast Japan triggered the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident, the world’s worst since Chernobyl 25 years ago. Japan – the only country to have suffered atomic bombings and a key voice in global de-nuclearisation efforts – has also expressed concerns because nuclear-armed India has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Both the foreign ministers also agreed to accelerate a joint development of rare earth mineral deposits in the South Asian country. “The two countries will move ahead with a joint development of rare earth deposits in India,” said Gemba, quoted by Jiji Press, in line with an accord reached last year when Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Japan. Japan has looked to diversify rare earth supplies for its high-tech industries — ranging from computer components to hybrid cars — as China, which controls more than 90 percent of global supply, has tightened its export quotas.
India, Japan civilian nuclear cooperation pact on cards
