New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Japan marked a new high point in the strategic and economic partnership between the two countries, with the two sides unveiling a roadmap that is expected to shape the relationship over the next decade, official sources told The Sunday Guardian.
As per sources, PM Modi was received with full ceremonial honours by Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, and the two leaders spent most of the two-day visit together, underscoring the personal camaraderie between them.
From formal delegation-level talks and a dinner hosted in his honour to travelling together on the Shinkansen bullet train from Tokyo to Sendai, sharing a meal on board, and visiting the Tokyo Electronics factory, the visit, sources told The Sunday Guardian, reflected the closeness at the leadership level that is driving the bilateral relationship.
Official sources told this newspaper that the highlight of the visit was Japan’s announcement of a commitment of JPY 10 trillion in private investment into India over the next 10 years, a pledge that signals confidence in India’s economic prospects and the potential of the partnership.
This commitment came alongside the unveiling of the India-Japan Joint Vision for the Next Decade, a comprehensive framework covering economic growth, technology, security, innovation, sustainability, health, clean energy, mobility and cultural exchanges.
A wide range of memoranda of understanding were signed, including in areas such as defence cooperation, human resource exchange, digital innovation, critical minerals, space exploration and cultural collaboration, making the visit one of the most substantive in recent years.
PM Modi’s programme in Tokyo also reflected the bipartisan and broad-based nature of India’s ties with Japan. He met two former Prime Ministers, Yoshihide Suga and Fumio Kishida, as well as the Speaker and a group of Japanese parliamentarians.
In a notable gesture, sources said, the governors of 16 prefectures, the equivalent of Indian chief ministers, travelled to Tokyo to meet him, adding a significant state-level dimension to the engagement. This wide-ranging outreach, cutting across party and regional lines, highlights the depth and resilience of the India-Japan partnership, which both sides are now positioning as a key driver of growth, innovation and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
