• Source:JND
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PM Modi’s Japan Visit updates:  Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in Tokyo on Friday for a two-day official visit to Japan at the invitation of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. The visit, scheduled from August 29–30, marks the 15th India-Japan Annual Summit and is expected to set the stage for deeper cooperation in trade, investment, defence, technology, and people-to-people exchanges.

The visit is set against the backdrop of changing global alignments and a decline in India-US relations over trade and tariff policies under US President Donald Trump. India's outreach to Japan, one of its most reliable strategic allies in Asia, is thus being viewed as an important component of revamping its diplomatic priorities.

 

Warm Welcome In Tokyo

Prime Minister Modi was received with cultural performances by Japanese artists and members of the Indian diaspora, who gathered at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport to welcome him. One Japanese artist, who spoke in Hindi, said to ANI, "I will greet Prime Minister Modi in Hindi along with my students — 'PadharoMhare Des'. I have been studying Hindi since 2020." The scenes reflected the deep civilizational ties and cultural warmth between the two countries. India's Japan Ambassador Sibi George said in an interview to NDTV prior to the visit that the summit would discuss "expanding the ambit of our engagement, from advanced technologies such as AI and semiconductors to conventional sectors like trade, defence, and cultural exchanges.

This will be PM Modi’s eighth visit to Japan since 2014, underscoring the importance of the India-Japan relationship. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), in a statement released before the visit, described the summit as “the highest-level dialogue mechanism between India and Japan, providing an opportunity for the two leaders to review progress across multiple domains and to set the broad agenda for future cooperation.”

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, addressing the media in New Delhi last week, described the visit as an "important milestone" in bilateral relations. "India and Japan are two of Asia's leading democracies and among the world's top five economies. They have common values, trust each other, and have a strategic vision on important regional and global issues. The annual summit offers the chance to reinforce this partnership and initiate new initiatives to meet emerging challenges," he stated.

Prime Minister Modi will meet the most prominent Indian and Japanese business leaders at a special forum to promote more trade, investments, and technology transfer. The focus will also be on deepening Japanese prefecture-state cooperation. "India-Japan ties have gradually increased in ambition and scale over the decade. The leaders will review achievements and discuss how best to inject more resilience into the relationship," Foreign Secretary Misri stated.

After Japan, PM Modi will visit Tianjin, China, on August 31-September 1 to take part in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping. On the sidelines, Modi is expected to meet key leaders including Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

With inputs from agencies.