National Times Bureau, August 30, 2025: Prime Minister Narendra Modi departed for China on Saturday to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin, following a successful two-day visit to Japan.
During his Japan visit, India and Japan finalized 13 key agreements and declarations, launching several transformative initiatives aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation. Prime Minister Modi expressed gratitude to Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, the Japanese people, and the government for their warm reception, calling the visit “productive and beneficial for both nations.”
The two countries set an ambitious investment target of 10 trillion yen (approximately ₹60,000 crores) in India over the next decade. Major agreements included a framework for defence collaboration, a 10-year roadmap to boost economic engagement, and the establishment of an economic security architecture to enhance supply chain resilience in strategic sectors such as semiconductors, clean energy, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, critical minerals, and emerging technologies.
The Prime Minister highlighted that India-Japan cooperation is essential for global peace and stability, emphasizing the start of a “new and golden chapter” in bilateral relations. The 10-year roadmap focuses on expanding economic ties and includes key pillars such as technology and innovation, mobility, ecological sustainability, health, and enhanced people-to-people and state-to-prefecture exchanges.
In a landmark move for space collaboration, India and Japan also signed an implementing arrangement for the Chandrayaan-5 mission, which will explore the polar regions of the Moon jointly. During his stay, Modi met governors of 16 Japanese prefectures in Tokyo to strengthen state-prefecture cooperation and visited a semiconductor plant in Sendai, Miyagi, alongside PM Ishiba.
Following Japan, Prime Minister Modi will participate in the SCO summit on August 31 and September 1. This visit is seen as crucial amid current global dynamics, including the recent downturn in India-US trade relations after the imposition of 50% tariffs on Indian exports. It marks Modi’s first official visit to China in seven years.
