New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shigeru Ishiba on Friday (August 29) pledged deeper defence and economic ties, with Tokyo setting a 10 trillion yen ($67.9 billion) investment goal and expanding opportunities for Indian workers, even as New Delhi reels from steep American tariffs.

After delegation-level talks in Tokyo, Modi said the two countries had “laid a strong foundation for a new and golden chapter” in their partnership, with cooperation to focus on investment, innovation, technology, mobility and people-to-people links.

Ishiba stressed that Japan and India must “bring their strengths together for the peace and stability of the region”.

At the 15th Annual Summit in Tokyo, the two sides adopted a slew of documents. Along with the joint statement, they released Joint Vision for the Next Decade, a Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation, and an Action Plan on Human Resource Exchange, alongside more than a dozen agreements spanning clean energy, digital cooperation, critical minerals and cultural exchange.

A centrepiece of the summit was Tokyo’s pledge to mobilise 10 trillion yen ($67.9 billion) in private-sector investment into India over the next decade – double a previous target set in 2022.

“Bringing in the vitality of India will also grow the Japanese economy,” Ishiba said, while Modi urged Japanese companies to “Make in India, Make for the world”.

Foreign secretary Vikram Misri later said the investment target was not tied to specific projects. “As you are aware, the investment is eventually going to be made by private companies and private companies will decide the areas most suited,” he told reporters.

He added that “if you look at everything else that we have done during the course of this visit, for instance the areas that I highlighted in so far as the economic security initiative is concerned, or the eight pillars of the joint vision document, I think you have a fair idea of where the investment is likely to be directed.”

Japan’s total investment in India till December 2024 amounted to $43.2 billion. Bilateral trade has hovered around $23 billion annually.

Although US tariffs were absent from the leaders’ public remarks, Misri confirmed the issue had been raised during talks.

Asked directly about Washington’s tariff hikes on Indian exports, he said: “Both the prime ministers exchanged views on the global situation, the impact that some of these moves have had and how that essentially creates the ground and the logic for closer cooperation between India and Japan, especially in the field of business, the economy, supply chains, making them more resilient and diversifying our resource bases.”

India has been hit with a 50% tariff rate after an additional 25% levy linked to its purchases of Russian oil took effect this week. Japan negotiated its rate down to 15% through a trade agreement that included a $550 billion investment pledge, though differences over details remain, with Tokyo’s chief trade negotiator cancelling a planned trip to the US.

Pressed further, Misri added: “Today’s discussions were more about the broad vision for the India-Japan relationship, what we are doing together. Naturally, what is happening in the rest of the world is discussed, but the focus remained squarely on our bilateral cooperation.”

The summit also launched an Economic Security Initiative focused on semiconductors, critical minerals, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications and clean energy. Misri said it reflected a shared recognition of the need for resilient and diversified supply chains.

The two leaders announced Digital Partnership 2.0 and a Japan-India AI Cooperation Initiative to promote collaboration in semiconductors, large language models, AI governance and data centres.

A memorandum on mineral resources was signed to advance cooperation in critical minerals, which Misri described as a sector where “Japan has advanced technologies and India has resources”.

The Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation set out a framework to expand defence and security ties across traditional and non-traditional domains. It provides for more complex tri-service exercises, closer coordination between joint staff and cooperation in counter-terrorism, cyber defence, space security, defence research and development, and supply chain resilience.

Misri said the declaration “puts a framework around this cooperation” and would “contribute to each other’s defence readiness and capabilities through existing channels of engagement”.

He added that it also created “an institutionalised dialogue for the first time between the national security advisers of the two countries, as well as greater engagement between the joint staffs.”

Ishiba noted that compared to his first visit to India in 2003 as head of the Japanese Defence Agency, “Japan-India security cooperation has deepened dramatically”.

He also pointed to technological cooperation in recent months, citing efforts “to be realised on Unicorn radio antenna in order to support such cooperation.”

The Unified Complex Radio Antenna, or UNICORN mast, an integrated stealth-enhancing communications system, will be co-developed for Indian Navy ships by Bharat Electronics Limited in collaboration with its Japanese counterparts. This will mark the first co-development of defence equipment between India and Japan.

The joint statement reaffirmed support for a free and open Indo-Pacific, expressed “serious concern” over developments in the East and South China Seas, and condemned North Korea’s missile launches as violations of UN resolutions.

The language was noticeably stronger on the South China Sea than in the joint statement of the last summit in 2022.

On India’s priorities, it specifically referenced the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, in which 26 civilians were killed and which triggered a four-day military clash between India and Pakistan.

The joint statement also noted the “mentioning” of The Resistance Front (TRF) in the UN Security Council monitoring team’s report in July.

The language appeared careful to ensure Japan did not explicitly state that the group was behind the attack. “Prime Minister Modi further explained that … TRF had claimed responsibility for the attack. Prime Minister Ishiba noted this with concern,” the statement said.

The two leaders also called for the perpetrators of the Pahalgam attack to be made accountable. “They also called for concerted actions against all UN-listed terrorist groups and entities including Al Qaeda, ISIS/Daesh, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and their proxies, and to take resolute actions to root out terrorists’ safe havens, eliminate terrorist financing channels and its nexus with transnational crime, and halt cross-border movement of terrorists.”

The Action Plan on Human Resource Exchange set a target of 500,000 personnel moving between the two countries in the next five years, including 50,000 skilled Indian workers. Modi said the plan would allow Indian talent to “actively contribute to the economy of Japan”.

Acknowledging that fewer than 2,000 Indian students currently study in Japan, Ishiba said, “We need more high-skilled talent from India for the growth of the Japanese economy and the revitalisation of local communities.”

Misri described the plan as filling “natural complementarities” – with India offering a surplus skilled workforce and Japan facing shortages in key sectors. He said the action plan would cover engineers, researchers, students and semi-skilled workers, alongside expanded Japanese language training in India.

Beyond security and economics, the two sides expanded cooperation in space exploration. ISRO and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency signed an implementing arrangement for collaboration on Chandrayaan-5, also known as LUPEX, to explore the lunar south pole. Misri described the mission as a “major milestone in India’s lunar odyssey”.

The Next Generation Mobility Partnership will broaden work on high-speed rail, aviation, ports and shipping. Japan reaffirmed support for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project, while India welcomed Tokyo’s offer to introduce next-generation Shinkansen technology.

On energy, the leaders agreed to advance their Clean Energy Partnership, signed a joint declaration on hydrogen and ammonia, and expanded cooperation on sustainable fuels and decarbonisation technologies.

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