Modi, Takaichi put AI, security at center of India-Japan ties

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s first official visit to India has pushed the bilateral relationship deeper into AI, defense technology, economic security and energy resilience, with both governments using the 16th India-Japan Annual Summit to respond to supply-chain risks, energy shocks and China’s expanding regional influence.

Takaichi arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday for a three-day visit from 1 to 3 July. She was given a ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Thursday before holding summit talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Hyderabad House.

The two leaders announced a package of agreements covering artificial intelligence, defense, energy, economic security, next-generation mobility, health and people-to-people ties.

India and Japan adopted three major documents on economic security, energy resilience and AI cooperation. They also signed their first defense co-development pact, centered on a naval radio antenna project.

Modi said the defense project would open a new chapter in defense technology cooperation and help strengthen regional peace, maritime security and a rules-based order.

Both countries are members of the Quad, along with the US and Australia, and have been trying to build more resilient supply chains as China’s dominance in critical minerals, advanced manufacturing and maritime activity creates new vulnerabilities across the Indo-Pacific.

Japan Times reported that Takaichi’s visit came amid Tokyo’s concerns over Beijing’s use of economic leverage, including export controls linked to dual-use goods and the blacklisting of Japanese companies.

AI was one of the central themes of the summit. Modi said Japan’s precision technology and India’s software capability could give new momentum to global AI development. Indian AI institutions also signed agreements with Japanese partners.

The two sides had already launched an AI Cooperation Initiative in 2025 and held their first AI Strategic Dialogue in April.

Economic security moved sharply up the agenda. Modi said India and Japan had prepared a joint roadmap to strengthen supply-chain resilience in strategic sectors such as semiconductors, quantum technologies and advanced materials.

Takaichi said the two countries could become stronger and more prosperous together by using each other’s strengths. She said such cooperation had become more important in a turbulent international environment.

Investment was another major pillar. Modi said more than 100 business agreements had been concluded over the past year, bringing more than $10 billion, or about ₹95,393 crore, in Japanese investment into India.

Takaichi said the summit had produced about 120 cooperation documents between Japanese and Indian companies, with investment agreements worth about ¥2 trillion, or about ₹1.18 trillion.

Modi said the two countries had set a target of ¥10 trillion, or about ₹5.91 trillion, in Japanese investment into India over the next decade. He also said India wants to double the number of Japanese companies operating in the country.

Energy security also featured prominently. India and Japan agreed to cooperate on strategic stockpiling systems, oil and gas supply assurance, energy transport and institutional collaboration between Indian and Japanese agencies and companies.

The two sides also announced an India-Japan biogas initiative to support 1,000 biogas and organic fertilizer plants in India. Modi said cooperation in batteries, green hydrogen and nuclear energy would contribute to the global clean-energy transition.

A separate next-generation mobility framework aims to extend India-Japan cooperation beyond the automotive sector into shipbuilding, aviation and logistics.

Modi and Takaichi also attended the India-Japan Joint Economic Forum in New Delhi and interacted with business leaders.

The two leaders virtually inaugurated Maruti Suzuki’s fourth vehicle manufacturing facility at Kharkhoda in Haryana.

The summit also touched on health security, with agreements in pharmaceuticals, medical devices and biotechnology.

Modi said India’s scale and Japan’s quality could help deliver affordable, reliable and advanced health solutions globally.