Economy Samyak IAS 02 Jul, 2026 3 min read

India-Japan ties as PM Sanae Takaichi visits India

What to know about India-Japan ties as PM Sanae Takaichi visits India

Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi arrives in India for the 16th India-Japan Annual Summit.

The Summit and Its Agenda

The India-Japan Annual Summit was established in 2006 as a yearly meeting between the two Prime Ministers.
The summit is hosted alternately by India and Japan.
PM Takaichi is on a three-day visit accompanied by a large business delegation.
Both leaders will participate in business-related events during the visit.
The summit will review the full range of India-Japan bilateral cooperation.
Both sides will also discuss important regional and global issues.
Japan has described the visit as focused on trade, investment and strategic cooperation.

India-Japan Economic and Strategic Partnership

Economic Relationship

India-Japan economic ties are expanding, with around 1,400 Japanese companies operating in India, nearly half in manufacturing.
Bilateral trade reached $27.5 billion in 2025-26.
Japanese investment in India stood at $3.2 billion during April-December 2025.
Japan remains one of India’s major investors, supporting flagship projects such as the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Corridor.
Recent investments also include a $1.6 billion deal for a 20% stake in Yes Bank.

Strategic Logic

The partnership acts as a strategic and economic counterweight to China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific.
Both countries focus on security cooperation and a free, open and rules-based Indo-Pacific.
India and Japan cooperate closely through the Quad, along with the US and Australia.
Defence and strategic cooperation have expanded through bilateral and multilateral platforms.

Regional and State-Prefecture Cooperation

India-Japan ties are built on eight pillars: economy, economic security, mobility, environment, technology, healthcare, people-to-people ties and state-prefecture engagement.
State-prefecture cooperation has emerged as a unique feature of the partnership.
In 2025-26, Chief Ministers from Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh visited Japan, while Japanese prefecture governors visited India.
The India-Japan Governors Network was launched in February 2026.
Japan is India’s key partner in the North-East through the India-Japan Act East Forum.
The North-East is seen as the meeting point of India’s Act East Policy and Japan’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific vision.

Evolution of Partnership

India-Japan relations are rooted in historic cultural and civilisational links.
The partnership became a Global Partnership in 2000.
It was upgraded to a Strategic and Global Partnership in 2006.
In 2014, it became a Special Strategic and Global Partnership.
The two countries will mark 75 years of diplomatic relations in 2027.
The relationship now includes over 70 dialogue mechanisms, including 2+2 Dialogue, Strategic Dialogue, Economic Security Dialogue and Act East Forum.

Critical Areas of Cooperation

Economic security and technology are now central pillars of the partnership.
Priority sectors include semiconductors, critical minerals, pharmaceuticals, clean energy and ICT.
Key agreements include cooperation on mineral resources, semiconductor supply chains and AI.
The Japan-India AI Cooperation Initiative and Strategic AI Dialogue have further strengthened technology cooperation.

Defence Cooperation

Defence cooperation has deepened through the Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation.
Bilateral exercises include JAIMEX, Dharma Guardian, Veer Guardian and Coast Guard drills.
Multilateral cooperation continues through exercises such as MALABAR and MILAN.
Defence technology cooperation includes transfer-related initiatives such as the UNICORN Mast.