SYLLABUS

GS-2: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

Context: 

Recently, the Prime Minister of India attended the 15th India-Japan Annual Summit in Tokyo on August 29-30, 2025. 

Key Highlights of the Summit

• Joint Vision for the Next Decade: It lays out whole-of-nation lines of efforts to steer the partnership in eight pillars, such as economy, economic security, mobility, environment, technology and innovation, health, people-to-people ties and state-prefecture engagement.  

• Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation: It elevates India’s defence and security ties to the next level, taking into account the contemporary geopolitical realities and security configurations in the region. 

• Action Plan for Human Resource Interchange and Cooperation: It lays out a roadmap for talent mobility and deepening people-to-people ties through exchanges of more than 500,000 personnel in five years, including 50,000 skilled personnel and potential talents from India to Japan. 

• India-Japan Economic Security Initiative: It focuses on building robust supply chains and collaborating in essential and developing technologies such as semiconductors, clean energy, and critical minerals. 

• Japan pledged to mobilise 10 trillion Yen (approx. $68 billion) in private investment in India, reaffirming its commitment to economic cooperation and building on its previous goal of 5 trillion yen.
• They supported bilateral efforts to advance Japan Industrial Townships (JITs) and enhance cooperation in sectors like logistics, textiles, agriculture, and MSMEs under the India-Japan Industrial Competitiveness Partnership (IJICP).

• Japan-India AI Cooperation Initiative: It seeks to support joint research, foster industry-academia exchange, promote data centre development in India, and enhance bilateral and multilateral AI cooperation, including with LLMs.

• Additionally, Memorandum of Cooperation on the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) and the Joint Declaration of Intent on Clean Hydrogen and Ammonia were signed. 

• Multilateral and Regional Cooperation: They reiterated their support for the Quad, and urgent UN Security Council reform, including mutual support for each other’s bids for permanent membership.

Area of Cooperation Between India and Japan 

• Bilateral Trade: 

• India-Japan bilateral trade totalled US$22.85 billion during FY 2023-24. Exports from Japan to India were US$17.69 billion, and imports were US$5.15 billion. 
• India ranks 18th in Japanʼs total trade with a 1.4% share, while Japan ranks 17th in Indiaʼs total trade with a 2.1% share. 

• Defence cooperation and regional groupings: 

• Regular joint exercises include Malabar, Milan, JIMEX, Dharma Guardian, and Coast Guard cooperation. 
• The Quad includes India, Australia, Japan, and the US, working for global good and an open, free, and inclusive Indo-Pacific.

• People to People Participation: 

• Opening of the Indian Consulate in Fukuoka that will deepen the links between the Kyushu region of Japan with India.

• Space Cooperation:

• 2025 is being celebrated as the India-Japan Year of Science, Technology and Innovation Exchange, marking the 40th anniversary of the first MoU on science and technology signed between the two countries. 
• The LUPEX mission, jointly developed by ISRO and JAXA, aims to explore the moon’s south pole and study its hidden resources, including water ice. 

Sources:

https://ddnews.gov.in/en/pm-modi-embarks-on-two-day-visit-to-japan-for-15th-india-japan-annual-summit/ https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/pm-modi-calls-for-deeper-india-japan-state-prefecture-cooperation-in-meet-with-16-governors/article69991982.ece https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2161985