India and Japan: Deepening Cooperation

Syllabus: GS2/IR 

In News

• India and Japan  signed a Memorandum of Arrangement (MoA) on Maritime Security Cooperation and agreed to deepen operational cooperation including information sharing, naval exercises, ship repair and logistics support.

Historical Linkages of India-Japan Ties 

• The historical links between India and Japan go back to the 6th century with the introduction of Buddhism into Japan, which fostered a strong cultural affinity among the Japanese.
•  In 1949, after World War II, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru presented a symbol of optimism to Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo: an elephant. 
• Prime Minister of Japan Nobusuke Kishi visited India in 1957 and Japan gave its first formal yen loans to India in 1958.

Overview of India-Japan Relations 

• Strategic: India and Japan elevated their relations from a Global Partnership in 2000 to a Special Strategic and Global Partnership in 2014. Annual summits have been held since 2006.
  • The two countries have over 70 dialogue mechanisms, including 2+2 foreign and defence dialogue, economic and security consultations, and cooperation in fields like technology, defence, energy, infrastructure and healthcare. 
  • There is synergy between India’s Act- East Policy, principle of SAGAR and the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) and Japan’s vision of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP), leading to strategic convergence.
• Economic Relations:  India-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA came into effect in August 2011.
  • It covered trade in products and services, movement of persons, investment, intellectual property, customs and other trade-related topics.
  • The tariffs on 94% of trade items between India and Japan in 2011 were decreased by 2021.
    • India’s total trade with Japan in FY25-26 is USD 27.48 billion, with Exports of USD 6.04 billion and Imports of USD 21.44 billion. In 2024-25, India ranked 18th in Japan’s total trade with 1.4% share while Japan ranked 17th in India’s total trade with 2.1% share.
    • India’s primary exports to Japan are Organic Chemicals, Vehicles (Other than railways & trams), Nuclear Reactor, Aluminium and Articles thereof, Fish & other aquatic invertebrates. India’s primary imports from Japan are Nuclear Reactors, Copper and Articles thereof, Electrical Machinery and Equipment, Inorganic Chemicals and Iron and Steel
• Defence: India-Japan defence cooperation is getting stronger and stronger with rising strategic convergence.
  • The two countries also have regular Army, Navy and Air Force Staff Talks and perform bilateral and multilateral military exercises.
    • Key agreements include the 2014 Defence Cooperation MoU, 2015 agreements on defence technology transfer and secret information, 2018 Navy cooperation arrangement
    • 2020 Reciprocal Provision of Supplies and Services (RPSS) agreement that has been used in exercises since MILAN 2022.
    • India and Japan are also co-developing UNICORN radio antenna masts for the Indian Navy which is the first collaborative defence equipment development between the two countries.
• Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) Project: India’s first High Speed Rail (HSR) corridor is being implemented from Mumbai to Ahmedabad with technical and financial assistance from Japan.
  • With 12 stations in the States of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, the corridor has a length of 508.17 km. 
  • The project envisages ‘Make in India’ as well as ‘Capacity Development’ to enable the Indian workforce to acquire skills relevant for the Japanese Shinkansen HSR technology.
• Act East Forum: Founded in December 2017, it seeks to strengthen India-Japan collaboration under the framework of India’s Act East Policy and Japan’s vision of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific. It focuses on the economic development of North Eastern India including connectivity, infrastructure, industrial connections and people to people ties. The most recent meeting was held in 2024.
• India’s first high-speed rail project, Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR), with 12 stops and a length of 508.17 km is under development with the technical and financial aid of Japan. It encourages Make in India and trains Indian workers on Japan’s Shinkansen technology.
• Science & Technology : The declaration of 2025-26 as the India-Japan Year of Science, Technology & Innovation Exchanges boosted the India-Japan S&T collaboration which began in 1985.
  • ISRO and JAXA cooperate in the domain of space cooperation, including satellite navigation, space situational awareness and lunar exploration. 
  • Their flagship project is the Lunar Polar Exploration Mission (Chandrayaan-5) for which an implementing agreement was signed in 2025 with launch scheduled for 2026-27.
• Education and Culture  : India and Japan are building closer ties in education and culture with university partnerships, teacher-student exchanges, scholarships and Japanese language programs.
  •  There are more than 100 cooperative research projects every year and there are hundreds of students and academics exchanged through programs such as LOTUS and Sakura. 
  • The 2025 MoU on Cultural Exchange reaffirmed cultural co-operation in arts, museums and heritage conservation. Japan has a growing community of around 59,000 Indians including IT professionals, engineers and business people.

Importance of the Partnership 

• Geopolitical Balance: Both countries are proponents of a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” (FOIP), which serves as a significant counterweight to regional unilateralism and reinforces a rules-based maritime order.
  • They promote the shared vision of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific and deeper engagement with partners in the area, such as Indonesia, beyond bilateral ties. 
• Economic Complementarity: Japan’s advanced technology, strategic capital, and industrial expertise meet India’s rapidly rising market, digital public infrastructure, and large, youthful labour.
• Multilateral: Both countries are leading efforts to build resilient, decoupled supply chains in crucial sectors through the Quad (with the US and Australia) and venues like the G20.
• Maritime:   The Cooperation will develop bilateral exercises and incorporate more complicated exercises using unmanned systems and multi-domain operations.
  • It will overall enhance strategic and operational convergence between India and Japan, advancing India’s goals in military manufacture and ship building and Japan’s interests in secured maritime routes and a stable Indo-Pacific.

Issues and Concerns 

• Weak Trade: The bilateral trade is at $27.5 billion. The leaders in both countries recognise this is a tiny fraction of its potential given the size of both economies.
• Regulatory & Market Friction : Japanese enterprises confront rigorous regulations and Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) compliance, whereas Indian exporters face stringent phytosanitary checks in Japan.
• Defence Production Bottlenecks: Despite the high frequency of military exercises, long-term defence co-production arrangements (e.g. the ShinMaywa US-2 amphibious aircraft) have been blocked by pricing, technology transfer concerns and procurement delays
• Geopolitical positions: On a number of issues — security in Eurasia, or sanctions on Russia led by the West — India continues to assert its strategic autonomy, while Japan continues to be strongly aligned with the G7.

Conclusion 

• The India-Japan partnership has moved from a typical donor-recipient relationship to a strategic partnership of equals with focus on technology cooperation, energy transformation and defence security. 
• India and Japan’s strategic potential can be unlocked by removing regulatory barriers and converting defensive technology deals into operational hardware.
  • This will ensure long-term stability and economic success across the Indo-Pacific.

Source : TH