India is ready to seal a civilian nuclear deal and boost trade ties with Japan, as New Delhi looks to prove its friendship in the wake of Tokyo's bitter territorial spat with Beijing.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
"I am confident that we will be able to conclude an agreement (on a civilian nuclear deal), which will be a win-win proposition for both of us," said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh before heading to Tokyo to meet with his Japanese counterpart Naoto Kan on a three-day trip.
His visit comes as Tokyo struggles to repair ties with Beijing, hit by the worst diplomatic row in years over the islets in the East China Sea.
Mr Singh said India would like Tokyo to be its partner in nuclear energy, noting that Japan has "one of the highest and most advanced nuclear technologies."
Japan and India launched talks in June on signing an atomic civilian co-operation agreement that will allow Tokyo to export nuclear power generation technology and related equipment to energy-hungry India.
Mr Singh and Mr Kan were expected on Monday to declare the completion of talks on an economic partnership agreement (EPA), which Mr Singh said would open up the fast-growing Indian market to Japanese firms.
Japan, a greying nation with a shrinking population, has long tried to enhance ties with emerging economies but its relations with China, Asia's other population giant, hit rock bottom in a row following Japan's arrest of a Chinese trawlerman last month in the waters near Diaoyu Islands.
Beijing reacted angrily to the arrest, cancelling all high level talks and civilian programmes.
India has also seized on the alleged blocking of rare earth exports as a chance to step into a gap, with Mr Singh saying New Delhi and Tokyo can co-operate on the production of rare earth minerals in India.
“There is no real Friendship, but there is always real Interest,” as goes the old saying.
Therefore, People would wonder how far the deal clinched between India and Japan could go if at the cost of distancing from China ? 
