Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in Tokyo on 29 August 2025 that “strong democracies are natural partners in shaping a better world” while addressing the India–Japan Economic Forum and meeting his Japanese counterpart, Shigeru Ishiba.
Modi’s remark frames the India–Japan partnership as both normative and strategic: beyond trade and investment, the two democracies aim to align on technology, supply chains, and regional security at a time of shifting geopolitics. The Tokyo visit produced concrete investment targets and set the diplomatic tone ahead of Modi’s next stop at the SCO summit in China.
Modi’s message in Tokyo
Speaking to business leaders and officials, Modi stressed democratic solidarity as a basis for cooperation, arguing that shared values enable deeper trust for long-term projects—from semiconductors and green hydrogen to defense manufacturing. He called Japan a “natural and strong democratic partner” and underlined India’s policy stability and growth potential as reasons for increased Japanese investment.
Key announcements and numbers
Tokyo sessions included economic pledges and ambition-setting: Japanese private-sector investment targets and enhanced people-to-people links were highlighted in discussions aimed at expanding trade and technology ties. Media briefings from the India–Japan Economic Forum reported goals such as boosting private sector investment and expanding bilateral exchanges—figures that ministers and industry leaders framed as multi-year objectives to deepen economic integration.
Why this matters—impact and context
India and Japan already cooperate on infrastructure, manufacturing, and development finance; Modi’s framing elevates that partnership into a geopolitical partnership among democracies. In practice, value alignment can make supply chain and technology projects less politically risky, attract long-term capital, and help both countries shape regional norms—especially in the Indo-Pacific, where economic and security architectures are being renegotiated.
Diplomatic background & recent trajectory
India–Japan ties have steadily expanded over two decades—from metros and manufacturing to defense and critical minerals. Modi’s Tokyo stop follows earlier summitry and comes just days before his attendance at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin, allowing New Delhi to balance bilateral and multilateral engagements in a tightly packed Asia tour. Reuters and government briefings flagged the sequential travel plan and the strategic calculus behind it.
What’s next?
Following Japan, Modi is scheduled to attend the SCO summit in Tianjin (Aug. 31–Sept 1), where he will engage regional leaders on security and trade issues. Back home, both governments will translate forum-level outcomes into working groups, investor roadshows, and specific memoranda of understanding that pipeline projects from announcement into execution. Observers will watch investment commitments, project timelines, and any joint initiatives in technology and clean energy.
According to official statements and coverage by the Prime Minister’s Office and major news organizations, including PMO/PMIndia, Reuters, and NDTV, Prime Minister Modi addressed the India–Japan Economic Forum in Tokyo and emphasized democratic partnerships as drivers of cooperation.
Conclusion
By foregrounding democracy as a basis for partnership, PM Modi is recasting India–Japan ties from transactional cooperation to strategic alignment. The Tokyo commitments—if converted into funded projects and signed contracts—could deepen industrial linkages and expand the role both nations play in shaping regional rules and economic architecture in the coming decade.
