The Ties That Bind: Part 1 (1950s-1990s)Japan–South Asia Relations and Decades of Development Cooperation Partnership

Considering Japan–South Asia relations through Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA), this first paper of a two-part series contributes significantly to the literature on Japan’s ODA, which has largely overlooked South Asian nations. Japan began providing aid to the region in 1954, with its first yen loan to India disbursed in 1958 and to Pakistan in the early 1960s. Although South Asia has remained a consistent recipient of Japan’s loans and other types of aid throughout the twentieth century, Tokyo shifted its attention more to Southeast Asia and China in the 1970s, reducing South Asia’s relative importance for several decades. Its historical, economic, and strategic importance was also viewed as less significant for Tokyo compared to other regions in Asia. The paper argues that aid, or ODA, nevertheless served as a continuing channel for Japan’s engagement with South Asian nations. These aid ties, however, were not without challenges. For instance, relations deteriorated in 1998 when Japan strongly condemned India and Pakistan for conducting nuclear weapons tests. However, from the early twenty-first century, changing economic and strategic dynamics in Asia prompted a refocusing of Japan’s attention, and relations improved significantly along with Japan’s aid, aspects that will be discussed in Part 2.