Every revolution starts with a messenger. Rabindranath Tagore’s first journey to Japan in 1916 was one such rare cultural moment. A single individual seemed to embody the possibility of a more connected Asia. Just three years after winning Asia’s first Nobel prize, he was invited to The University of Tokyo as a guest lecturer.
*Stations were filled with people wishing to catch a glimpse of him. At one stop, a group of students pressed forward to offer him flowers. Tagore, touched but slightly amused by the fervour, remarked to a companion that he felt, “less a poet than a pilgrim.”
Throughout his three-month stay, the Japanese saw Tagore as a living symbol* rather than just another visitor.
The most famous of his lectures, now immortalised in print, was titled, ‘Japan: A Lecture.’ It was a plea to Japan’s leaders to preserve their culture.* “Your mission is not to compete with the West in its own game,” Tagore said, “but to offer something which the world needs—the spirit of beauty, of simplicity, of harmony with nature, which you have preserved through centuries.”
*Most of the poems in Tagore's collection, "Stray Birds" were influenced by Japan's aesthetics. He dedicated the book to Tomitaro Hara, a silk merchant from Yokohama who hosted Tagore at his estate.
Rabindranath Tagore’s epochal visit in 1916 carried the message for Asian modernisation. A century and a bit later, India and Japan are joining hands again. This time, they’re committing capital and technology in the pursuit of solving the planet’s biggest existential crisis—climate change.
A Landmark Deal
This year, an important milestone was missed amidst the shrill buzz of our news timelines. Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Shigeru Ishiba signed an agreement worth $65 billion in private investments from Japan to India over the next decade.
A crucial part of that deal was Japan’s investment into India’s decarbonisation projects as part of a Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM). The JCM is Japan’s framework with developing countries for reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. Aligned with Article 6.2* of the Paris Agreement, it helps both developing nations cut emissions.
*Article 6.2 allows countries to voluntarily cooperate on emission reductions and can be used by the buyer country to meet its climate goals
India and Japan’s JCM agreement is a remarkable piece of legislation that’s been nine years in the making, further strengthening a growing India-Japan Climate Corridor (IJCC).
The India-Japan Climate Corridor (IJCC)
We’re already seeing its ripple effects. In the few months since the deal was signed, multiple strategic partnerships have already been established. The JCM unlocks the potential for India’s climate infrastructure by making green projects financially attractive to builders.
Here’s how: Japan has a net-zero target of 2050. To achieve these targets, Japanese corporations need to offset emissions. One of the ways to tackle residual emissions is to buy carbon credits. Solar facilities and green hydrogen plants built in India can generate carbon credits that are then sold to these corporations. For India, a renewable energy project that was marginally viable becomes financially attractive when carbon credit sales are factored in. The multiplier effect compounds: better financing terms unlocks innovation in green tech.
Alt Carbon, Mitsubishi Corporation, and MOL
Alt Carbon has signed carbon removal partnerships with two Japanese institutions—Mitsubishi Corporation and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL).
We recently issued Asia’s largest batch of verified carbon dioxide removal credits via Enhanced Rock Weathering to MOL. We removed 221 tons of CO₂ from the atmosphere.
Alt Carbon’s Darjeeling Revival Project was also the only climate project mentioned by the Hon. Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The India-Japan Climate Corridor is growing, and bringing together India’s pioneering field operations and Japan’s global industrial leadership will accelerate permanent carbon removal.
The India-Japan Climate Corridor may have not dominated our news cycle. But its potential reminds me of how I felt the first time I stepped inside the Delhi Metro. It looked like the bullet trains I had seen in movies, and operated with metronomic precision. I only learnt later that Japanese technology and vision played a key part in building the Delhi Metro project.
Its inspiration was the Shinkansen bullet train—travelling at 320 km/h; seldom late. India has much to learn from our Japanese friends. This climate corridor will be a prized partnership if we can imbibe their precision, and scale CO₂ removal across the country.
India’s Long Friendship With Japan
India’s friendship with Japan goes back to 752 AD, when an Indian monk consecrated the Buddha at the Todai-ji Temple in Japan. Or take the legendary Satyajit Ray, whose mastery prompted director Akira Kurosawa to say, “To have not seen the films of Satyajit Ray is to have lived in the world without ever having seen the moon and the sun.”
The greatest example of all is Justice Radhabinod Pal—an Indian jurist who spent most of his life in Calcutta. He has two memorials dedicated to him at the oldest shrines in Tokyo and Kyoto. Why? Because he stood up for Japan when nobody else would.
In November 1948, as twenty-five Japanese leaders were given life imprisonment and death sentences at the Tokyo Tribunal, Justice Pal stood alone in dissent. In a thousand-page document, he exposed the cracks within the verdicts, calling them a symbol of a Western thirst for revenge.
Over the years, through industrial and economic progress, that friendship has naturally translated into a partnership. Today, more than 1400 Japanese companies operate in India, while about 100 Indian companies have a station in Japan.
The India-Japan Climate Corridor builds on this friendship. Its significance goes far beyond two signatures on a white sheet. Instead, it sets a precedent for deep collaboration at a time when the wealthiest economies in the world are closing their doors. The East is forging a new path and building its own allies.
