Japan Habba 2025: Celebrating Indo-Japanese Ties

India and Japan have a shared cultural history marked by the spread of Buddhism in the Land of the Rising Sun in the 6^th century AD. Since then, the bilateral relations have been on an upswing trend. In the post-World War II phase and with the promulgation of a new constitution in both India and Japan, the relationship has moved forward with the signing of the Peace Treaty and the formal establishment of diplomatic relations on 28 April 1952. Fast forward, the early period of 21^st century also witnessed cementing of deep bond with the hosting of Festival of Japan in India in 2007 with Shinzo Abe as the Prime minister taking a personal interest in enhancing the ties and in cultivating personal chemistry with his counterparts in India during his two stints in office, 2006-2007 and again from 2012-2020. Other Japanese prime ministers in recent times, such as Yoshiro Mori (2000-2001), Junichiro Koizumi (2001-2006), and Fumio Kishida (2021-2024), have also invested heavily in the promotion of friendship and cooperation with India at myriad levels. All of these initiatives have yielded significant outputs in areas ranging from energy security, environmental protection, climate change, disaster management, cultural and academic exchanges, people-to-people contacts, and easing of visa regulations by India for Japanese nationals etc. Japan’s generous financial support to India in the form of ODA (Official Development Assistance) in India’s multiple sectors ranging from academic and cultural collaboration to underground metro construction, introduction of Bullet Trains, forestation drive, and sustainable development, has also contributed immensely in cementing the bilateral relations and in taking them forward.

Showcasing the diverse splendours of Japan Habba 2025

As a major value addition aimed at deeper cultural engagement between India and Japan, Japan Habba has emerged as a significant cultural hub and platform that has been taking place in the city of Bengaluru since 2005. This year, in 2025, marks the 20^th anniversary of Japan Habba with a tagline of ‘Everything Japan’.

With an elaborate logistical arrangement and well-orchestrated organisational team at its helm, Japan Habba 2025, during its January-February 2025 Spring fiesta, has been held in four stages, thirty-plus events, and seventy-plus stalls in Bengaluru. Activities have ranged from contests, workshops, seminars, and are complemented by special, designated events such as anime shows, manga characters, video games, karaoke, Ikebana, Matsuri festivals, Japanese calligraphy, Japanese Tea Ceremony, Japan’s popular cuisines from Sushi to Tempura. The primary objective of Japan Habba has been to showcase the best of Japanese culture and its distinctive flavour, such as popularising Japanese language lessons for young learners and enthusiasts, as well as prospective future travellers to Japan from India.

A special section of Japan Habba was dedicated to showcasing Japanese cinema, particularly the works of celebrated filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, and his masterpiece films such as The Seven Samurai, Rashomon, Kagemusha, etc. Works of famous Japanese scholar, Tensin Okakura, who was greatly inspired by India’s Nobel laureate, Rabindranath Tagore, have also been exhibited to create interest among literary lovers of India and Japan.

Another highlight of Japan Habba 2025 was a session on the high popularity of Indian movies, particularly that of southern mega star Rajnikanth. The session on Japanese Tea Ceremony (‘Sado’, or The Way of Tea) provided the intense cultural and spiritual aspects of this unique Japanese ritual, which symbolises respect, purity, harmony, and peaceful ambience. This elaborate tea ceremony embodies Shintoism’s emphasis on ‘wa,’ meaning harmony and unity. ‘Wa’ is complemented by ‘Kei’ or respect, ‘Sei’ representing purity of thought and ‘Yaku’ symbolising simplicity and tranquillity of the Japanese mind and for a peaceful future.

Similarly, the session on Ikebana or ‘Living Flowers’ was presented as a unique art form, and it fascinated the audience due to its emphasis on balance, simplicity, harmony, and thereby connecting it to Zen philosophy and the practice of minimalism.

India’s Cultural Outreach within Japan

Comparatively small in number of approximately 58,000 in population, India’s diasporic community in Japan have been a great source of strength in enhancing India’s soft power capabilities. Indian diaspora have been particularly active in larger cities of Japan such as Tokyo, Osaka, Yokohama, Kobe, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Nagano, Miyazaki, Nagasaki, Okayama, Kumamoto, etc. and have been extremely proactive in its engagements and in its interactions with the Japanese public, the prefectural governments, as well as the civil society, in boosting the bilateral relations between India and Japan to greater heights. As per information available on the official website of the Embassy of India, Tokyo ( www.embassy-tokyo.gov.in), over fifty Indian associations have been actively operating in various parts of Japan, including in the five provinces, namely, Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu and Okinawa. Hundreds of Indian students, as cultural ambassadors representing the splendid diversity of India, have enrolled themselves in major Japanese universities such as Tokyo, Sophia, Doshisha, Kyoto, Oita, Kagoshima, Shimane, Tohoku, Keio, Chiba, Waseda, Kansai, Miyazaki, etc. India-centric/focused courses are being regularly offered in various universities spread across Japan and have attracted a sizeable section of Japanese students. Similarly, there are major Indian associations in Japan that are primarily dedicated to the promotion of Indian culture. These include: All Japan Association of Indians (AJAI), Bharat Cultural Society Japan (BCS Japan), Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar International Association of Japan (BAIAE), Discover India Club (DIC), Nihon Indians, Rachna Club of Indian Women’s Association, Indian Chamber of Commerce, Japan, etc.

The Vivekananda Cultural Centre (VCC) under the Embassy of India, Tokyo, holds regular classes for registered students on a variety of subjects, including Yoga, Tabla, classical Indian dances such as Odissi and Kathak, as well as language classes in Sanskrit and Hindi.

Salience of India’s Soft Power capabilities and its impact on Japan

With India as an emerging global power, the depths of its soft power are on full display in various outlets and forums in Japan.  These include: promotion of Yoga, Ayurveda, Bollywood, India’s cuisines, India’s literary works, India as a ‘Brand State, ‘Destination India’, ‘Know India’, Study in India, ‘Namaste Diplomacy’, India’s sense of Inclusivity ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’, Indian spirituality, etc. These soft power attributes of India in a cumulative way have enhanced in shaping values, beliefs and attitudes for the promotion of India’s image and profile in many profound ways.

Conclusion

In spite of the fast-changing, evolving and fluid geo-political churnings with its ramifications being felt in geo-economic and geo-strategic spheres, cultural diplomacy between and among nations does provide a benign approach at enhancing bilateral relationships to higher benchmarks. Following the same trajectory, India-Japan relations are likely to endure onerous challenges and thus pave the way towards a more durable world order through meaningful and carefully calibrated cultural convergence among the two nations in multiple ways and manifestations. Future summit meetings at the highest level between India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, and Japan’s Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, are likely to herald a new beginning and cultural bonhomie, as well as greater momentum to the eight-decades-old tried and tested friendship and camaraderie on a win-win proposition.