Renewed focus: On India-Japan ties  

On the first leg of his tour East, Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled to Japan for a two-day visit for the 15th Annual Summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba before moving to Tianjin to attend the SCO Summit. The last summit, in India, was in 2022. The two sides issued at least a dozen documents, aimed primarily at updating their agreements and giving them a “Next-Gen” focus. Japanese businesses have raised their investment targets in India to $68 billion and signed about 170 MoUs with Indian partners. Apart from the Joint Statement, there was a 2035 Vision Statement, including eight areas of cooperation such as economic security, mobility and green technology transition. A “Next-Gen State-Prefecture Partnership” highlighted grassroot-level ties and a boosting of direct flight connectivity. India and Japan updated their 2008 Security partnership to include an annual NSA-level dialogue, more engagement over the Quad, Indo-Pacific cooperation and UN Security Council reform. Of interest is their Economic Security Partnership goal to build resilient supply chains and secure critical infrastructure, using Japanese technology to help manufacture and process semiconductor technology in India, as Indian companies face Chinese restrictions on the export of rare earth magnets. Japan’s collaboration with India’s High Speed Rail “Bullet Train” project was showcased, with Mr. Modi and Mr. Ishiba travelling to Miyagi province by train, where they also inspected a semiconductor factory. The joint statement included strong language condemning North Korea’s missile tests and nuclear programme, and the Pahalgam attack and cross-border terrorism, albeit without mention of Pakistan. The leaders also stressed the importance of the upcoming Quad Summit of leaders in India this year, which has come under a cloud over Mr. Trump’s actions against India.

While the text of the India-Japan meetings was largely bilateral, the subtext was geopolitical. Mr. Modi flew to Tokyo in the wake of the massive American tariffs which threaten to upturn the Indian economy. He also chose to make Japan his first stop before his talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday (August 31, 2025) towards normalising relations after a four-year standoff. Japan too is concerned about the situation in the East China Sea, and has tensions over trade with the U.S., which led it to cancel a trade negotiation team visit to Washington. The message that Mr. Modi and Mr. Ishiba sent out was that amidst geopolitical turmoil caused by global powers, the India-Japan relationship remains stable and continues to grow.