Parliamentary Committees in Japan and India: Their Functions and Relevance

For a variety of reasons, Indo-Japanese relations have remained predominantly economic in nature since 1952 when the two countries resumed their normal interactions. A great deal has been written on their relations in trade, investment and economic assistance. But other dimensions of their ties have not received the attention they deserve. It is very essential to broaden our focus to explore new areas of mutual interest. Despite the fact that both Japan and India have strong commitments to parliamentary democracy, the level of awareness in both countries about each other’s political systems and institutions is rather low. As two of world’s stable democracies, they do have common institutions, practices and conventions which need to be studied in order to foster closer understanding between the two countries. This book, which studies the functions and relevance of parliamentary committees in Japan and India, is a modest attempt to fill this critical gap in mutual awareness and stimulate others to undertake similar studies. Contributors to this volume are well-known specialists in their fields.