NEW DELHI: Japan has issued a demarche to India asking it to review its decision to cancel all e-visas to Japanese nationals. Apparently upset that it has been clubbed with countries like Iran, Italy and South Korea, Japan has conveyed to India that a blanket ban on visas is going to hurt economic engagement with India including work on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train which has a 2023 deadline.
Japan, in fact, has also asked India to at least not block visas for Japanese engineers and other workers directly involved in bullet train work. ToI has learnt that Japanese authorities are trying to approach both health minister Harsh Vardhan and foreign minister S Jaishankar to emphasise before them the need to take an “objective” view of the situation.
India has cancelled all e-visas for nationals of Japan, South Korea, Italy and Iran as it works to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Japan though has told Indian authorities that while South Korea had 5328 cases of infection, Italy 2502 and Iran 2336, Japan only was dealing with 284 such cases as of March 4, 2020, as per WHO. Japan also last week helped India evacuate 119 Indian nationals who were on board the Covid-19 infected Diamond Princess cruise ship.
Additional Sessions Judge Dharmendra Rana fixed March 20 as the new date of execution after it was told by the Delhi government that the convicts have exhausted all their legal remedies.The lawyer for the four death row convicts also told the court that there was no legal impediment for court in proceeding to fix the date of execution.
India is in touch with Iran on possible evacuation of Indian pilgrims and students stuck in the coronavirus-hit nation, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Thursday. The minister said the government is following up with Iran to tie-up evacuation of Indian pilgrims and students stranded in Tehran and Qom as per need.
Indian government sources said they were working to address concerns raised by Japan. “Their people are worried that if they step out of the country, they won’t be allowed to return. But as we have said, they can still apply for visas with the Indian mission,” said a source.
There are more than 1400 Japanese companies active in India. Japan also wants India to consider the cases involving family members of Japanese workers as they are are unable to visit Japan for the fear of not being able to return to India.
While India has said that Japanese nationals can still seek visa from the embassy in Tokyo, it seems easier said than done. “There’s effectively a ban on all visas as the visa officials are reluctant to issue any visa keeping in mind the coronavirus scare,” said a source who didn’t want to be quoted.
The visas ban has come as a surprise to Japanese authorities as India otherwise looks at Japan as perhaps the most important partner for its economic transformation. As the MEA says, Japanese ODA supports India’s efforts for accelerated economic development particularly in priority areas like power, transportation, environmental projects and projects related to basic human needs.
Apart from the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail, Japan is also helping India build the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC), the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor with twelve industrial townships and the Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (CBIC). They are all seen by the Indian government as landmark projects which can transform India in the next 10 years.
via Visa ban could hurt economic ties, Japan warns India | India News – Times of India
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