New Delhi: Emphasising that India should not be a 'target country' but a 'partner country' for the international nuclear regime, Japan yesterday (Jan 18,2007) sought New Delhi's cooperation against clandestine proliferation emanating from 'your neighbour' which is a 'serious threat'.

Two days after India's Special Envoy Shyam Saran discussed the civil nuclear issue with leaders in Tokyo, Japanese Ambassador Yasukuni Enoki said evolving a compromise to make exception for New Delhi was a difficult task.

Having strong views on nuclear issue as it is the only country to have suffered an atomic attack, Japan is still in the process of firming up its stance with regard to New Delhi's civil nuclear ambitions.

"The issue is how to make a compromise. On the one hand, there is need for energy and to bring India into the nuclear mainstream to strengthen non-proliferation regime. But you cannot rule out suspicion that exception to India may weaken the NPT regime," he told reporters here.

He said all those countries, which have not signed NPT, are considered 'bad boys and in this backdrop, it has to be seen how to make an exception for India so that other "bad boys" do not ask for similar thing.