PM Modi meets 16 Japanese governors; India, Japan sign multiple MoUs

In Tokyo, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged stronger India-Japan sub-national ties; both sides signed multiple agreements spanning trade, tech, security, and clean energy

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday met governors of 16 Japanese prefectures in Tokyo, where he called for stronger collaboration between Indian states and Japanese prefectures, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement. The meeting was part of his day-long programme in Japan that also included interactions with business leaders and cultural exchanges.

 

PM Modi encourages state-prefecture partnerships

Highlighting the State-Prefecture Partnership Initiative launched at the 15th India-Japan Annual Summit, PM Modi said the framework could boost cooperation in trade, technology, tourism, skills, security, and cultural exchanges. He encouraged governors and Indian state governments to build partnerships in areas such as manufacturing, mobility, start-ups, and small and medium enterprises.

 

In Japan, a prefecture is the highest local government division, comparable to a state or a province in other countries.

 

“Each prefecture in Japan has its own economic and technological strengths, and likewise, Indian states have diverse capabilities. This is the time to combine Japanese technology with Indian talent,” the MEA statement read.

 

The Japanese governors agreed that sub-national collaboration was vital to deepen business, educational, cultural, and people-to-people ties.

 

"State-prefecture cooperation is a vital pillar of India-Japan friendship...There is immense scope to cooperate in areas like trade, innovation, entrepreneurship and more. Futuristic sectors like Startups, tech and AI too can be beneficial," PM Modi wrote in a post on X on early Saturday morning.   

Several Indian states already have active partnerships with Japanese prefectures, including Andhra Pradesh with Toyama, Tamil Nadu with Ehime, Uttar Pradesh with Yamanashi, and Gujarat with Shizuoka, according to a joint statement issued on Friday. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri added that the two countries had signed 150 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) worth $13 billion over the past two years.

 

Agreements signed between Indian and Japan

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X that the two sides concluded a wide-ranging set of agreements during Modi’s visit. These include:

1. India-Japan Joint Vision for the Next Decade
2. Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation
3. Action Plan for India-Japan Human Resource Exchange
4. Implementing arrangement between ISRO and JAXA for a joint lunar polar exploration mission
5. Joint Declaration of Intent on Clean Hydrogen and Ammonia
6. Joint Statement of Intent on Science and Technology Collaboration
7. MoC on Joint Crediting Mechanism
8. MoU on India-Japan Digital Partnership 2.0
9. MoC in the field of Mineral Resource
10. MoC on Cultural Exchange
11. MoU on Decentralised Domestic Waste Water Management
12. MoC in the field of Environment Cooperation
13. MoU between Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service and Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs

 

The Joint Vision document sets out eight areas to guide the partnership, ranging from economic security and ecological cooperation to health, innovation, and people-to-people links.

 

Japan pledges $67 billion investment in India over 10 years

On Friday, Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announced that Japan would aim to invest ¥10 trillion ($67 billion) in private investment into India over the next decade. Both leaders also agreed to strengthen industrial cooperation under the 'Make in India' initiative, expand semiconductor and battery supply chain partnerships, and continue work on India’s high-speed rail project.