Japan and India will deepen economic security cooperation across five key sectors, according to a draft joint declaration. The sectors include semiconductors, critical minerals, clean energy, information technology, and pharmaceuticals. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will visit India starting Wednesday, marking her first trip there since taking office. Furthermore, she will meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi the following day for formal talks.
Both leaders prioritize building supply chains that reduce dependence on any single country, particularly China. Consequently, economic security cooperation is expected to dominate the summit’s agenda significantly. In the semiconductor sector, both countries will deepen collaboration on human resource development and technical assistance. Additionally, Japan will encourage greater participation by its companies in India’s government-led semiconductor projects.
Regarding critical minerals, Japan’s metals and energy security organization plans to sign a technical cooperation memorandum with India’s Geological Survey. This agreement will establish frameworks for mineral exploration dialogue between both countries. Moreover, the two governments will sign a separate memorandum specifically targeting battery supply chain strengthening. To institutionalize broader economic security cooperation, both sides will utilize existing frameworks like the Japan-India Economic Security Dialogue.
A new public-private dialogue framework involving government, industry, and academia will also launch to track project progress. The draft declaration explicitly raises concerns about economic coercion and arbitrary export restrictions affecting global trade. These concerns clearly reflect growing unease regarding China’s recent rare earth export restrictions targeting other nations. Therefore, both Japan and India emphasize building highly reliable supply chains alongside other like-minded countries going forward.
During her visit, Takaichi plans to promote her updated Free and Open Indo-Pacific vision to Indian counterparts. Notably, Modi previously introduced his own cooperative vision for the Indo-Pacific region last year separately. The draft declaration suggests synergy between both visions will provide additional momentum for deepening economic security cooperation. Going forward, this summit could mark a significant step toward institutionalizing long-term Japan-India strategic and economic partnership against shared regional challenges.
