1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
Live TV
Latest audioLatest videos
In focus
Russia's war in UkraineIsrael-Hamas warIndia elections
Politics

Japan signs non-military nuclear accord with India

Amien Essif
November 11, 2016

The two Asian countries have agreed to a deal that will bring Japan's advanced nuclear technology into India for peaceful purposes. Critics say Japan has broken with its principles.

https://p.dw.com/p/2SY8g
Shinzo Abe und Narendra Modi in Neu Delhi
Japan's Shinzo Abe and India's Narendra Modi shake hands while signing a military agreement last year in New Delhi, India.Image: Reuters/A. Abidi

Japan signed a civilian nuclear agreement with India on Friday, allowing the East Asian country to supply its advanced nuclear technology to its South Asian ally. The pact forbids that India use the resources for the production of nuclear weapons.

This marks the first time that Japan has agreed to contribute to the nuclear energy industry of any country that has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The treaty’s objective is to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy while stemming the production of nuclear arms.

"The Japanese-Indian deal is a significant step away from Japan's symbolic role as a strong advocate of nuclear disarmament," Akira Kawasaki of Tokyo-based Peace Boat organization told Deutsche Welle before the deal was signed.

By signing an agreement with Japan, India hopes to advance it’s nuclear energy program to provide for its growing population.

India has refused to sign the NPT on the grounds that the treaty's definition of states who are allowed to build nuclear weapons discriminates against India. The definition in the treaty is limited to those states who tested weapons before 1967. India, which has nuclear weapons, tested its first bomb in 1974.