Japan

India, Japan Sign Pacts on AI, Metals and Energy

Is the India-Japan partnership driven by genuine strategic alignment or purely commercial logic?

JUL 2·Updated JUL 3

India, Japan Sign Pacts on AI, Metals and Energy

Story

Above: Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi shakes hands with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, India, on July 2. Image credit: Sonu Mehta/Hindustan Times/Getty Images

The Facts

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi signed agreements on defense, energy, AI and critical minerals during the 16th India-Japan Annual Summit in New Delhi on Thursday.
Deccan Chronicle
Dw.Com
India and Japan also signed their first joint defense co-development agreement, covering the UNICORN naval radio antenna system, which consolidates multiple antennas into a single radar dome to reduce a warship's radar cross-section.
The Associated Press
The Times of India
The two countries set a target of 10 trillion yen ($62 billion) in Japanese investment in India over the next decade. Japanese and Indian businesses also concluded investment deals worth $12.3 billion during the summit.
Taipei Times
Firstpost
India and Japan agreed to strengthen supply chain resilience in semiconductors, quantum technologies and critical minerals, with both nations seeking to reduce dependence on China, which dominates global rare earth exports.
Japan Today
Wionews
The two leaders adopted a joint roadmap on economic security and released a joint statement voicing "grave concerns" over the alleged use of economic coercion. Both sides also agreed to deepen cooperation on energy resilience and maritime security.
The New York Times
Nippon.Com
Bilateral trade between India and Japan reached $27.5 billion in fiscal year 2025-26, while Japanese investment in India totaled $3.2 billion between April and December 2025, according to Indian government data.
Mathrubhumi
The Associated Press

Sources Split

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The Spin

Pro-China narrative

The India-Japan partnership is ultimately driven by commercial logic. Japanese firms invest in India because of market size and growth potential, not to counter China — and India keeps deepening economic ties with Beijing regardless. With India still dependent on Chinese inputs and relaxing investment restrictions on China, any narrative of a clean strategic pivot toward Japan falls apart.

East Asia Forum

Institute of Geoeconomics

Anti-China narrative

This summit delivered real, concrete outcomes — defense co-development, AI cooperation, energy resilience and supply chain agreements. These two nations are building a partnership rooted in trust precisely because China's military aggression has made the stakes undeniable. Shared threats in the Indo-Pacific have forged a strategic alignment that goes far deeper than commercial interest.