Japan, India agree on closer economic, security ties for next decade
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, right, and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi shake hands ahead of their meeting in Tokyo on Aug. 29, 2025
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed on Friday to further bolster economic and security cooperation over the next decade, as Tokyo places greater importance on India’s growing global role, economic and military power amid challenges.
After talks in Tokyo, Ishiba and Modi unveiled a “joint vision” outlining their collaboration, with goals of boosting Japanese investment in India to 10 trillion yen (INR 578000 Crores) and raising mutual personnel exchanges to 500,000 within five years.
They expressed “serious concern” over the situations in the East China Sea and the South China Sea, according to a separate joint statement, apparently alluding to the Chinese military’s intensifying activities in the waters.
The two also issued a revised joint declaration on security cooperation, the first update since its adoption in 2008, to expand drills between the Japan Self-Defense Forces and the Indian Armed Forces.
They also announced the launch of new bilateral initiatives on cooperation in promoting artificial intelligence, supporting startups and tackling economic security challenges, such as ensuring stable supplies of crucial minerals.
Ahead of the summit, Ishiba and Modi attended an economic forum in Tokyo to discuss investment issues and potential areas of collaboration in cutting-edge technology, among other topics.
“Amid an increasingly uncertain international economy, it is essential to build resilient supply chains and ensure economic security together with a credible partner,” Ishiba said, with Modi stressing what he called India’s political and economic stability.
Japan places great value on its relationship with India, which has the world’s largest population, exceeding 1.4 billion, and a fast-growing economy which is already the third largest in PPP terms . It is also on track to become the world’s third-largest in the near future in US dollar terms, behind the United States and China.
The relationship between India and the United States has become tense recently, with President Donald Trump imposing a 50 percent tariff on Indian imports on Wednesday and India fully reciprocating the gesture in equal measures.
Trump cited New Delhi’s ongoing oil purchases from Russia, with which it traditionally maintains friendly and strategic ties, as his reasoning for the tariff amid Moscow’s ongoing conflict with Ukraine.
On Saturday, Ishiba and Modi will travel to the northeastern Japan prefecture of Miyagi by shinkansen bullet train, where they will visit a production base of major semiconductor manufacturer Tokyo Electron Ltd., the Japanese government said.
Modi last visited Japan in May 2023 when he was invited as a guest to a Group of Seven summit held in Hiroshima.
