With Japan playing hard ball in the negotiations on the civil nuclear deal, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said he would not "force" it on Tokyo as he recognises its sensitivity on the subject.
However, Singh, who is here on a two-day visit, said he would like Japanese firms to participate in expansion of India's nuclear industry.
"We would hope that Japan will be India's partner in expansion of its civil nuclear industry for peaceful purposes. But I do recognise the sensitivity of the subject in Japan and will not therefore force the issue," he told a business luncheon meeting here.
Singh made the comments while responding to a question about the next steps after the completion of a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the two countries.
His comments come in the backdrop of Japan insisting that the proposed agreement on a civil nuclear deal should have a provision under which the cooperation would be called off if India were to test a nuclear weapon.
The two countries have already held two rounds of negotiations on the proposed agreement and the Indian side has indicated that this condition could be accommodated through proper wording in the pact.
Japan is the only country to have faced a nuclear attack and is immensely sensitive to the issue, particularly considering that India is not an NPT signatory.
Observing that with India's rapid economic growth, the demand for energy has been rising rapidly, Singh told the business leaders that cooperation between the two countries in this area will "enable Japanese companies to participate in India's ambitious nuclear energy programme."
