India begins bumpy ride on Japanese train

Real aim could be deeper strategic cooperation

Yu Qiang, a researcher of Japan studies at University of International Relations in Beijing [Photo/China Daily]

Few would lay a bet on Japan's export of Shinkansen to India making profit. The real intention of Tokyo, which refrained from selling its bullet trains to overseas markets until 2004, is to crack open India's market for long-term gains.

Reports suggest Tokyo's latest gift to New Delhi may be the E5 series Shinkansen bullet train, the fastest of its kind that went into commercial operation in March 2011. Manufactured by the consortium of Hitachi and Kawasaki Heavy Industries, the E5 trains apparently have strategic implications for Abe.

Kawasaki owns the technologies for building the Soryu-class submarine, which is one of the mightiest in the world and pursued by India. The high-speed rail deal, despite its unpromising economic prospect, could be part of a bigger plan to lure New Delhi into purchasing the submarines it desires.

Hitachi is based in Abe's ancestral hometown Yamaguchi prefecture, a constituency of his younger brother Nobuo Kishi, who, too, is also a leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Selling the bullet trains to India could bring tangible benefits to the company and thus would strengthen the political base of the Abe family.