[🇮🇳] India Japan Trade, Defense and Political Relations

[Saif]

Date of Event: Jul 2, 2026

Source: https://www.newagebd.net/post/south-asia/304580/japan-pm-arrives-in-india-for-trade-talks

Japan PM arrives in India for trade talks
Agence France – Presse . New Delhi, India 01 July, 2026, 21:35

Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks to the media following the earthquake in Aomori prefecture, at the Prime Minister’s Office in Tokyo on June 25, 2026. | AFP photo

Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday for her official visit to India, with trade, technology and security ties on the agenda.

Takaichi is due to meet with prime minister Narendra Modi during her three-day visit, which comes as their countries -- Asia’s second- and third-largest economies -- seek to deepen trade links.

Trade between them in 2025–26 topped $27 billion, according to official figures from India.

In an article published in the Times of India newspaper ahead of the visit, Takaichi said she expected ‘candid discussions on how to address the challenges facing the international community in these uncertain and testing times’.

Japan and India are both members of the Quad security alliance along with the United States and Australia, a group seen as a counterweight to China’s presence in the Indian Ocean and wider Asia-Pacific region.

‘A genuinely free and open region is not one where only the great powers enjoy freedom but one where every nation is able to chart its own course free from external coercion,’ Takaichi said.

She will be given a red carpet welcome on Thursday at the presidential palace, before talks with Modi, who last visited Tokyo in August 2025.

New Delhi’s foreign ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said Takaichi’s visit ‘marks an important step in taking forward the special strategic and global partnership between India and Japan’.

The two countries are expected to announce several initiatives during the visit covering artificial intelligence, infrastructure development and clean energy.

Takaichi will also attend the Japan-India economic forum, along with representatives from more than 150 Japanese businesses.

‘By leveraging each other’s strengths and becoming more resilient and prosperous together, we will serve the interests of both nations,’ Takaichi said in her article.

Japan has been the fifth-largest investor in India since April 2000 with cumulative investments of $48 billion, according to New Delhi.

Last year, Tokyo pledged $68 billion in private sector investments in India by 2035.

Tokyo is also backing India’s high-speed railway project with a major loan, and has supported metro projects in several major cities.​

 

[Saif]

https://www.newagebd.net/post/mis/304704/india-japan-vow-closer-work-on-critical-minerals

India, Japan vow closer work on critical minerals
Agence France-Presse . New Delhi 03 July, 2026, 00:03

Japan's prime minister Sanae Takaichi listens as India's prime minister Narendra Modi speaks during their joint press statements after their meeting at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Thursday. | AFP photo

India and Japan will work more closely on critical minerals to boost ‘resilience’ in their supply chains, prime minister Narendra Modi said Thursday, as the two huge Asian economies look to cut dependence on top exporter China.

Both India and Japan depend on imports for many such minerals, used in everything from electric vehicles, solar panels and smartphones to jet engines and guided missiles.

They have been seeking new suppliers, including the United States and other countries, as China’s dominance may leave them vulnerable to changes in their ties with Beijing.

‘We have agreed to strengthen supply chain resilience in strategic sectors such as semiconductors, quantum technologies, and critical minerals,’ India’s Modi said after talks with his Japanese counterpart Sanae Takaichi in New Delhi.

Japan and India are members of the Quad security alliance along with the United States and Australia, a group seen as a counterweight to China’s expanding presence in the Indian Ocean and wider Asia-Pacific region.

Takaichi said both Japan and India were facing challenges such as ‘weaponisation of the economy and non-market policies and practices’.

‘We need to urgently build resilience in our critical minerals supply chains,’ she said in her speech.

In a sign of camaraderie between the two leaders, Modi referred to Takaichi as his ‘little sister’ and the Japanese premier responded by calling him ‘elder brother’.

Japanese and Indian businesses concluded investment deals worth $12.3 billion, the two sides said.

They form part of a Japanese pledge to pour $68 billion into India over 10 years.

Modi said the countries had also agreed to co-develop a naval radio antenna project aimed at boosting maritime surveillance.

Earlier, Takaichi received a red-carpet welcome at the presidential palace in Delhi, where troops marched past in an honour guard parade.

She will address a business forum as part of efforts to strengthen economic ties between Asia’s second- and third-largest economies.

Trade between them in 2025–26 topped $27 billion, according to official figures from India.​