The different geopolitical objectives of Japan and India, especially towards China and North Korea, Russia, and the US, can influence the different priorities of the two countries’ broader cooperation.
Geopolitical and strategic convergence
April 2005 was the turning point of the “strategic orientation” of Japan and India. Then, the India-Japan relationship evolved into a strategic partnership based on shared interests.
In the past two decades, multidimensional political, economic, and strategic convergence has been highlighted by holding annual summit meetings, a global and strategic partnership, and upgrading the bilateral relationship to a “Special Strategic and Global Partnership”.
India and Japan cooperate on several fronts, including trade, investment, technology, security, and defense, with similar visions on economic growth, strategic objectives, and regional security.
In May 2023, Indian Prime Minister Modi visited Japan to attend the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, and in September 2023, Japan’s Prime Minister Kishida visited New Delhi to attend the G20 Summit. The meetings of officials and leaders were highlighted in June 2024 at the G7 Puglia Summit in Italy, the Quadrilateral Summit in October 2024 in Wilmington, USA.
The Indian External Affairs Minister visited Japan in March 2024, and the 16th India-Japan Strategic Dialogue focused on strengthening the supply chain of semiconductors, defense technologies and equipment, security training exercises, opportunities for cooperation in space, and the Internet. In 2025, Indian External Affairs Minister Vikram Misri visited Tokyo to meet senior Japanese officials and reviewed political relations, defense and security, economic cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges.
In the geopolitical dimension, both India and Japan have border or political disputes with China, and countering China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region has brought India and Japan closer together. The two countries are closely cooperating in the Group of Four (G4) on reform of the United Nations Security Council and the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) for strategic convergence.
Another dimension of the growing India-Japan relationship is geopolitical and geoeconomic, development and infrastructure projects in third countries.
The India-Japan Corridor is seen as an alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to strengthen economic cooperation, technological innovation, and sustainable development, focusing on infrastructure development, connectivity, and capacity-building projects in Asia and Africa. The India-Japan Corridor envisages cooperation in Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka, and in the African countries of Kenya, Mozambique, Ethiopia, and Tanzania.
Military and security cooperation
Apart from the signing of the Agreement on Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy in November 2016, in recent years, increasing access to each other’s maritime facilities, technological cooperation, maintaining the security of sea lanes, and common views on counter-terrorism, piracy, and Indo-Pacific maritime security have been the goals of Delhi and Tokyo.
Japan’s revised National Security Strategy (NSS) document in 2022 has guided the growth of cooperation with India. Tokyo has also simplified its defense export guidelines and even considered the joint development of a next-generation fighter jet with India. Also, holding joint exercises and bilateral military agreements, exchanging logistics and information, annual meetings, regular exchanges at high levels such as the National Security Advisor (NSA), the 2+2 ministerial meeting, and the Defense Ministers’ meeting have strengthened the deterrence capability against threats.
The defence-security relationship between the two countries witnessed several developments in 2024-25, such as the Malabar naval exercise, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoI) for the joint development and construction of the Integrated Complex Radio Antenna (UNICORN) mast, and the Defence Ministers’ Meeting in New Delhi in May 2025. In May 2025, India and Japan agreed to add new dimensions to their cooperation, with Japan expressing its full support for India’s attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir.
Economic and Geoeconomic Cooperation
The economic complementarity between Japan and India in various sectors and the expansion of economic cooperation between the two Asian economic powers have led to growing bilateral trade and expanding cooperation in the field of new technologies and urban infrastructure development.
Apart from providing low-interest loans, Japan is one of the largest foreign investors in India, with Japanese investment in India exceeding $35 billion.
Although China and ASEAN have always been the main destinations for Japanese investment in Asia, India has emerged as the second-largest destination for Japanese investment in Asia, indicating a win-win shift in investment. Japan’s foreign investment in India was $3.1 billion in 2023-24.
Based on various agreements between the two countries, emerging opportunities for developing joint infrastructure and technologies in the short and medium term include several areas of transport infrastructure and high-speed rail, smart city technologies, digital and new technologies, renewable energy and clean technologies, electric vehicles, start-ups, strengthening small and medium-sized enterprises, and cooperation in space and earth sciences.
For example, India and Japan have focused their climate goals on clean hydrogen, solar energy, and are participating in major projects such as the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail. Also, Japan’s bilateral trade with India during the financial year 2023-24 amounted to US$ $22.85 billion.
Culture and Education:
Cultural institutions play an important role in facilitating cultural and educational exchange programs, building “soft power” and fostering deeper people-to-people connections. Apart from the increase in the number of Japanese citizens residing in India and the presence of about 51,000 Indians in Japan, Indian visitors to Japan are expected to reach 233,000 in 2024, a 40% increase. Japan focuses on India as a major growth market for tourism.
Challenges and Outlook
Obstacles such as differences in national, economic, and administrative approaches, slow economic reforms, and bureaucracy in India are preventing further expansion of economic cooperation.
Differences in foreign policy approaches and different positions pose a significant challenge to the concept of a strategic partnership. The different geopolitical objectives of Japan and India, especially towards China and North Korea, Russia, and the US, can influence the different priorities of the two countries’ broader cooperation. For example, there are differences in regional tactics or policies regarding the role of Russia or Iran, the war in Ukraine. Also, while the prospects of strengthening Japan’s position as India’s main partner are uncertain, the India-Japan-Bangladesh trilateral cooperation has been shaken.
Trump’s recent approach to the Kashmir crisis and pressure on India has also sparked some criticism in India. Many do not see Washington as a reliable partner on security and counterterrorism issues. Therefore, New Delhi must now turn towards strategic self-sufficiency, and India’s foreign policy should be defined by interests, not illusions.
However, although both countries see their national interests in the face of global crises and their partnership is more of a pragmatic alignment, bilateral cooperation in the economic, technological, infrastructure, and security fields is expected to expand further. In addition, Japan’s legal restrictions prevent a full-fledged military alliance and limit the partnership.
Samyar Rostami, а political observer and senior researcher in international relations
