Japan vows $68bn investment as PM, Ishiba chart future path

Japan on Friday set a target of 10 trillion yen ($68 billion) in private investments in India over a decade as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counterpart Shigeru Ishiba finalised a 10-year roadmap to deepen economic cooperation in vital areas such as technology, digitalisation and rare earths against the backdrop of uncertainty created by the trade policies of the US administration.

- Rezaul H Laskar

Modi and Ishiba launched an Economic Security Initiative at their annual bilateral summit in Tokyo to ensure supply chain resilience in strategic sectors such as semiconductors, telecom, pharmaceuticals and emerging technologies, and also finalised a Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation to guide joint efforts to respond to contemporary defence challenges.

Economic and trade cooperation was the focus of the summit, held amid the geo-economic churn affecting economies around the world due to the trade and tariff policies of the Trump administration in the US. Both Modi and Ishiba didn’t directly refer to the US in their public remarks but spoke about the need to strengthen the international order and protect national priorities.

“We both agree that as the world’s two largest economies and vibrant democracies, our partnership is extremely important not only for our two countries but also for global peace and stability,” Modi said at a joint media interaction. “Strong democracies are natural partners in shaping a better world.”

He added, “The India-Japan partnership is rooted in mutual trust, reflects our national priorities, and is shaped by our shared values and beliefs. Together, we carry a common dream of peace, progress and prosperity of our peoples and for the world." Ishiba said, "We share the responsibility to strengthen [the] international order as we see increasing opaqueness in international circumstances. Japan and India need to bring their strengths together for the peace and stability of the region." Both PMs referred to Japan's target of 10 trillion yen in private investments in India over 10 years, with Ishiba saying Tokyo will promote cooperation in space, next-generation mobility and the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed railway, a flagship project for the two sides.

Japan's earlier investment target of 5 trillion yen ($34 billion) during 2022-26 was achieved two years ahead of schedule.