TOKYO: A controversial agreement on nuclear energy between Washington and Delhi is proving to be a diplomatic headache for Japan, say analysts here. “There is a lot at stake for Japan in this looming diplomatic crisis that is testing Tokyo’s staunch support for the NPT (Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty) and its position as a leading advocate of a non-nuclear weapon’s world,” said Yoko Waki, professor of international relations at Keio University, about growing US pressure on Japan to support its agreement with Delhi, concluded in March.

India is not a member of the NPT. Japan is the only country in the world to have suffered the consequences of nuclear attacks — in 1945 the US military dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The disaster led to Japan’s defeat and the end of the Second World War. As a result, the country’s post-war pacifist constitution restricts the development of nuclear weapons.

Japan, the world’s second largest aid donor, has used its financial clout to pressure countries to stop developing nuclear weapons, a policy that prompted its ban on aid to India after that country conducted five underground nuclear tests in May 1998. But Japan’s traditional position is now facing a challenge, say analysts. They point to an upcoming summit between US President George W Bush and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koziumi on June 29, when Japan’s support for India’s nuclear industry — including transfer of technology, expertise and financial backing — is expected to be discussed. Any deals, some analysts say, may be forged much against the public’s deeply anti-nuclear weapons feelings.

“There is the possibility of Japan changing its current stance that has expected India to join the NPT,” Professor Masao Fukunaga, a South Asian expert at Aichi Women’s University based in Nagoya, said in an interview.

The Asahi Shinbun newspaper, quoting Japanese government sources, reported last week of a raging internal debate and the possibility of officials issuing a “basic understanding” of the US agreement with India that was formally signed March 2.

Proponents support Washington’s argument that the nuclear power deal enables inspections of India’s civilian nuclear facilities, thus strengthening the non-proliferation structure and boosting India’s economic growth. Opponents, the paper reported, worry about the deal’s lack of guarantees for inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the fact that nuclear power carries the threat of weapons’ proliferation.

“We are strongly against Japan accepting the US-India nuclear deal that will increase nuclear weapons’ race in that region. The agreement is irresponsible because it does not take into consideration the risks posed by nuclear weapons and is based heavily on economic greed given the growing needs of the energy market in Asia,” said Hideyuki Ban, head of the Citizen’s Nuclear Information Network, a leading anti-nuclear movement.

Ban told IPS that India’s rising economy has made nuclear power an important energy source and advanced nuclear technology countries such as the United States and Japan can be important suppliers. Nuclear power generates around three per cent of India’s total energy compared to over 30 per cent in Japan, which has developed nuclear fuel cycle facilities including the prototype fast-breeder reactor that produced plutonium. In contrast, nuclear power expert at the Japan Energy Policy Institute, Keiji Kanda, thinks the government should back the US-India deal, which he says reflects changing global politics.

“In contrast to Iran or Pakistan, India’s nuclear power development can be trusted and (India) is a respected country in Japan. The new agreement is an advantage to Japan, which has to have a closer partnership in the changing Asian regional politics that has seen the growth and influence of India,” he added in an interview.

Kanda explains that the NPT could be out of date given new trends in international relations and calls for closer cooperation between developed countries — more reason for Japan to back away from its traditional pacifist stance.

A breakthrough for Japan, say experts, could be the Global Nuclear Energy Programme (GNEP), announced by the US State Department in May. It advocates for Japan, China, France, Britain and Russia joining hands to develop new and more efficient ways to produce nuclear fuel that could be provided to other countries, while also safeguarding nuclear proliferation.

Ban says large Japanese corporations such as Hitachi Electrical Corporation and Mitsubishi Corporation are eager to export Japanese nuclear power technologies. Hitachi is already constructing an Advanced Boiled Water nuclear power plant in Taiwan.

There is also rising interest in nuclear power in Japan due to rising oil prices and global warming, boosting the government’s support for the energy source that is touted as cheap and environmentally conscious. But activists say they will fight against the expansion of nuclear power. “An accident in a plant can cause hundreds of death through radiation contamination. Also, there is the threat of nuclear arms proliferation. We will oppose any move in Japan to expand this energy,” Atsuko Nogawa of Greenpeace Japan, told IPS.—Dawn/IPS News Service