Japan eyeing 10-t.-yen private investments in India

They are expected to agree to revise a joint bilateral declaration on security cooperation for the first time in 17 years and to set up a new economic security initiative designed to deepen Japan-India cooperation over critical minerals and artificial intelligence, according to the sources.

Modi is scheduled to visit Japan for two days from Friday as part of "shuttle diplomacy" between Japan and India, or mutual visits by their leaders to each other's country.

It will be Modi's first trip to the East Asian nation since May 2023.

In 2022, then Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced that his nation would make private investments worth five trillion yen in India over five years.

Through the new goal, Ishiba hopes to encourage more investments by Japanese companies while capitalizing on India's economic growth.

The bilateral security declaration was signed back in 2008.

As the security environment in the Indo-Pacific region is increasingly severe due to China's ambitions, the revised declaration is expected to highlight Japan-India cooperation over economic security, including supply chains for critical minerals, and plans to jointly develop defense equipment.

It is also expected to mention recent efforts to beef up bilateral ties, including cooperation through the Quad framework, which comprises the two nations plus Australia and the United States.

At the upcoming summit, Modi is seen telling Ishiba that East Japan Railway Co.'s next-generation Shinkansen bullet train model will be adopted for India's first high-speed railway services, planned to link the western cities of Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

Ishiba and Modi will also agree on the use of Japan's joint crediting mechanism to help India reduce its greenhouse gas emissions with Japanese technologies.

The two leaders are expected to visit the northeastern Japan prefecture of Miyagi on Saturday to inspect a Shinkansen train.

By bolstering ties with India, Japan hopes to counter China's increasingly coercive behavior in the Indo-Pacific region.