On India trip in 2007, former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe championed idea of ‘broader Asia’

Abe was Japan’s longest-serving post-war leader and he occupied the Prime Minister post for eight years starting 2012 and once before that between 2006 and 2007. Abe resigned in August 2020 saying he was being treated for ulcerative colitis, a chronic intestinal disease.

In 2007, while he was the Prime Minister of Japan, Abe had come to India when Manmohan Singh was the country’s Prime Minister. Speaking about the relationship between the two countries, Abe had said, “The different streams, having their sources in different places, all mingle their water in the sea.”

In this May 29, 2013 file photo, former Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe during the delegation level talks in Tokyo. The former PM Shinzo Abe has died after being shot during a campaign speech, on Friday, July 8, 2022. (PTI Photo)

Abe had also spoken about coupling the prosperity and freedom of India and Japan for a “broader Asia”.

“A ‘broader Asia’ that broke away geographical boundaries is now beginning to take on a distinct form. Our two countries have the ability – and the responsibility – to ensure that it broadens yet further and to nurture and enrich these seas to become seas of clearest transparence.”

Former Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe in Delhi. The former PM Shinzo Abe has died after being shot during a campaign speech, on Friday, July 8, 2022. (PTI Photo)

Calling Swami Vivekananda the great spiritual leader that India gave the world, Abe had said, “Vivekananda came to be acquainted with Tenshin Okakura, a man ahead of his time in early modern Japan and a type of Renaissance man. Okakura was then guided by Vivekananda and enjoyed also a friendship with Sister Nivedita, Vivekananda’s loyal disciple and a distinguished female social reformer. Many people are aware of all that.”

Abe, who was accompanied by nearly 200 business executives, had pointed out the growing fascination among Japanese people for India and an eagerness among Indians to learn Japanese. Abe added that the economic relationship between India and Japan had deepened.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe arrives at his official residence in Tokyo January 23, 2015.  (REUTERS/File Photo)

Praising India’s spirit of tolerance, Abe had said, “From the reign of Ashoka the Great to Mahatma Gandhi’s satyagraha movement of nonviolent resistance, the Japanese people are well aware of the unbroken spirit of tolerance in Indian spiritual history.”

Abe had also talked about India and Japan forming a Strategic Global Partnership, adding, “This partnership is an association in which we share fundamental values such as freedom, democracy, and the respect for basic human rights as well as strategic interests.”

China’s President Xi Jinping is greeted by Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, June 28, 2019. (Photo: REUTERS)

By Japan and India coming together in this way, this “broader Asia” will evolve into an immense network spanning the entirety of the Pacific Ocean, incorporating the United States of America and Australia. Open and transparent, this network will allow people, goods, capital, and knowledge to flow freely.

Talking further about a broader Asia, Abe had said, “By Japan and India coming together in this way, this ‘broader Asia’ will evolve into an immense network spanning the entirety of the Pacific Ocean, incorporating the United States of America and Australia. Open and transparent, this network will allow people, goods, capital, and knowledge to flow freely.”