India-Japan Summit: Bonhomie meets business as Modi, Takaichi deepen bilateral partnership
Welcoming Takaichi, Modi described her as “Japan’s first female Prime Minister and a leader who is both visionary and popular.” Referring to his hometown of Nara, he said it remained “a very important center of the common Buddhist heritage between India and Japan.”
Also read: Japan-India Annual Summit: More than 150 firms support $12.5 billion push to strengthen security ties
“I am proud to say that the India-Japan partnership remains firmly committed to this principle,” Modi said, referring to the trust that has defined bilateral relations for decades. he said. “Today, with the visit of Prime Minister Takaichi, we begin a new page in our Special Strategic and Global Partnership.”
The two leaders also exchanged memorandums of understanding (MoU) covering artificial intelligence, economic cooperation, metals and energy security, and next-generation mobility.
While Modi hosted Takaichi for the summit, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a social media post, “To take forward a partnership based on trust, shared values and strategic convergence.”
Takaichi is on a three-day visit to India, his first official visit since taking office.
Modi introduces AI, investment and supply chains
Announcing the results of the summit, Modi said that the two countries published a joint declaration on artificial intelligence and signed an agreement to advance bilateral cooperation in the sector.
“With this vision, we published a joint declaration on artificial intelligence,” said Modi, adding, “We also signed an agreement on artificial intelligence with our Japanese partners.”
The Prime Minister said the India-Japan investment partnership is expanding rapidly and reiterated the two countries’ goal of attracting Japanese investments worth ¥10 trillion to India and doubling the number of Japanese companies operating in the country.
“We aim to achieve 10 trillion yen by doubling Japanese businesses in India,” Modi said.
He added that India and Japan will sign an agreement on next-generation mobility while strengthening resilient supply chains in semiconductors, quantum technologies and other advanced technologies.
On energy cooperation, Modi said both countries have taken “several important decisions” in the field of energy security.
“We will set up one thousand biogas and organic fertilizer plants in India through the India-Japan Biogas Initiative. This will give new impetus to sustainability, prosperity and rural livelihoods in India’s villages,” he said.
Economic security comes to the fore
As economic security remains a key theme of the summit, New Delhi and Tokyo reaffirmed their commitment to building resilient supply chains amid growing geopolitical uncertainty.
The two countries have identified semiconductors, critical minerals, pharmaceuticals, clean energy, and information and communications technology as priority sectors for deeper strategic cooperation. Artificial intelligence has also featured prominently in the discussions and the newly signed agreement is expected to provide a new impetus to cooperation between India’s digital ecosystem and Japan’s advanced manufacturing capabilities.
New Delhi and Tokyo have steadily established the institutional framework for this cooperation over the past few years. They signed a memorandum of understanding on semiconductor supply chains in 2023, followed by an agreement on mineral resources in 2025, and the first joint working group under the critical minerals partnership met earlier this year. The second India-Japan Economic Security Dialogue was held in May, alongside a private sector dialogue between Japan’s Keidanren and the Confederation of Indian Industry.
Energy security also came to the fore at the summit. Besides signing an agreement on metals and energy security, the two countries launched the India-Japan Biogas Initiative to set up 1,000 biogas and organic fertilizer plants across India. ET had reported ahead of the summit that New Delhi and Tokyo were also considering cooperating on liquefied natural gas (LNG) stockpiling and information sharing as part of broader efforts to strengthen energy security.
Both governments are expected to express concerns about economic pressure and non-market practices affecting global supply chains, including restrictions on rare earth exports, according to reports in Japanese media citing the draft joint declaration.
Also read: Japan’s foray into India: The big story behind the Modi-Takaichi summit
Investment drive is gaining momentum
The summit also coincided with a major push by Japanese industry into India.
More than 150 Japanese companies are participating in the Japan-India Economic Forum held in conjunction with the summit, and approximately 120 cooperation agreements are expected to be announced. Japanese newspaper The Yomiuri Shimbun reported that the ventures, which include semiconductors, clean energy, artificial intelligence and manufacturing, could be worth about ¥2 trillion (about $12.5 billion).
Projects expected to be announced include Fujifilm’s semiconductor materials facility, Suzuki’s biogas initiative, and collaborations between Japanese and Indian artificial intelligence startups.
The proposed investments build on the commitment announced at last year’s annual summit, where both countries set a target of attracting ¥10 trillion of private Japanese investment into India over the next decade.
India remains one of Japan’s top overseas investment destinations. Japan is India’s fifth-largest investor, with cumulative investments of more than $48 billion between April 2000 and March 2026. Approximately 1,500 Japanese companies currently operate in India; A recent survey by the Japan External Trade Organization found that more than four in five Japanese-affiliated firms in India plan to expand their operations in the next one to two years.
Bilateral trade between the two countries exceeded $27 billion in 2025-26, reflecting steadily expanding trade ties.
