Tokyo meets the world: India

This is my first assignment to Japan, so it was a new destination for me. I think Japan has not only measured very well against my initial impressions; it’s gone much beyond them. It’s a country worth exploring, a country that lives in harmony with nature, a country ready to understand and acknowledge the past – which is not easy in today’s international situation. Japan is ready to change its ways if they are deemed deficient by its own people. 

I have found people here extremely friendly and the system very organised – sometimes too organised [laughs]. At the same time, the world is subject to various disruptive technologies, which also drive quick innovations. Here, I think Japan witnesses a bit of inertia. For the future of our relationship, I would like to see these disruptive forces identified and understood for positive movement bilaterally and regionally.

India has been able to showcase to the world its very cost-effective human capital, in areas including engineering and medicine, science, technology and energy. It has been able to send its talent all over the world for the benefit of other countries and societies. English is a near-native language in India, it’s the language of communication in a country with many spoken languages. That considered, our teachers can provide English-taught education throughout the region. 

India has also demonstrated an ability to manage disruptions – largely technological ones – through startups and other interventions, which we would love to share with other countries. Japan is a very effective player when it comes to science and technology, so us combining our strengths could take things forward for the world.

Another example is renewable energy. Today, India is able to produce solar energy at a cost 18 percent lower than that of coal-fired power plants. Many countries find it difficult to lower the cost of electricity generated from solar power, but we have been able to do that, so the expertise and capacity exists to enhance international cooperation.

The 17 SDGs are common to all countries, but reactions to them vary greatly. The Indian situation is very different from the Japanese when it comes to fields such as poverty, hunger and health care.

But with regard to goals like renewable energy, the Japanese and Indian ecosystems can be compatible. I already mentioned solar power. Today, 38 percent of electricity generated in India comes from renewable sources. In solar power, India is the third largest in the world, and in wind power the fourth. We have competence and capacities in these fields, and these could be shared with Japan, which too has immense expertise. One of the SDGs includes improving the affordability of renewable energy, and our two countries can work together to bring costs down.

We also cooperate on matters such as innovation, conflict resolution and climate change. Looking at the past five years, India was one of the very few countries that was able to increase its forest cover as well as agricultural productivity. Whatever India does to improve conditions for its own population will also be able to contribute to achieving the SDGs for other societies.

Life in Tokyo has changed due to Covid-19, and unless that situation takes a positive turn, I don’t see any lifestyle changes happening soon. That has nothing to do with the Olympics. Either the coronavirus just goes away, which I don’t see happening, or we find a way to vaccinate as many people as possible. The virus will keep mutating and no scientist can predict how it will behave in the future, so vaccination is the only way forward – as I’m sure Tokyo recognises.

[The embassy area] is one of the best places in the city during sakura season, so I don’t go anywhere else when the blossoms are out. At other times, whenever I need a bit of peace and tranquility, I go to Sensoji. It’s a place where I feel at ease. On a good sunny day, I love walking in the Imperial Palace gardens. The National Museum is another one of my favourites, as well as Meiji Shrine.

It could be through digital channels – there are countless digital resources available for gaining information about India. But when it comes to experiences, interacting in person, with more than 40 Indian associations in Tokyo would be a great learning experience. 

Many of them are region-based, formed by the people from a particular state in India, while others are thematic. One association may focus on Rabindranath Tagore, another on Vivekananda. Then there are spiritual organisations, which share various experiences with their guests, and associations of professionals. All of these will give you a different experience.

There are so many restaurants in the city that serve Indian food, but I’m very cautious of calling them ‘Indian’ restaurants. It comes down to how you define an Indian restaurant: is it the one owned and operated by Indians, is it the one where the chef is Indian, is it one where the menu is Indian? 

I’d rather talk about restaurants where Indian food is served. You have close to 2,200 such restaurants between Tokyo and Yokohama and 5,000 across Japan, so it would be extremely difficult for me to pick only a few. There’s an association of Indian restaurants in Japan (Indian Restaurant Association of Japan), with certain conditions for membership, so that’s a good place to start. 

The term ‘Indian food’ itself is a misnomer, because of the heterogeneity of the cuisine. North Indian and South Indian foods are of course different, but even in the same state, you’ll find different kinds of food made from the same ingredients. No restaurant in the world can ever cover Indian cuisine as a whole.

Take biryani: in India, there are biryani specialists who can cook 140 different varieties of biryani. The same dish can be prepared in many different ways, and only the category is the same. Whether a restaurant serving Indian food is good, bad or ugly simply depends on the kind of food you’re looking for.

It’s very different [from Indian curry]. It’s in the same category – that of curry – but from what I understand Japanese curry is a mix of British and French styles of cooking. There’s a bit of gelatin, whereas Indian curry is largely water- or coconut-based. That said, Coco Ichiban curry is available in India, and Indians love it – there are rarely any empty seats at Coco Ichiban restaurants in India. We’re very keen to try different kinds of curry. Being different actually means good. Japanese curry is good, and I eat it myself quite often. Interview by Masashi Takahashi, coordination by Hiroko M. Ohiwa