India and Japan on Monday, 18 May held high-level discussions in Tokyo to advance people-to-people exchanges and other issues of mutual interest, as the two nations continue to deepen their strategic partnership across diplomacy, economic security, and supply chain resilience.

Key Meeting in Tokyo

India's Ambassador to Japan Nagma Mallick met Hiroshi Hiraguchi, Japan's Minister of Justice, to discuss bilateral people-to-people connectivity. The talks centred on the India-Japan Action Plan on Human Resource Exchange and Cooperation, a framework aimed at facilitating the movement of skilled workers and strengthening cultural ties between the two countries. The Indian Embassy in Japan confirmed the meeting through a post on X.

Economic Security Dialogue Gains Momentum

The Tokyo talks follow a significant engagement on 11 May in New Delhi, where India and Japan held the second round of the India-Japan Economic Security Dialogue. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri co-chaired the session alongside Japan's Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Takehiro Funakoshi and Vice Minister for International Affairs at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry Takehiko Matsuo.

Both sides agreed to deepen collaboration in strategic industrial sectors with a focus on enhancing supply chain resilience. Officials shared assessments of economic security challenges facing both nations, including economic coercion, non-market policies and practices, and overproduction concerns.

Five Priority Sectors in Focus

Discussions also addressed issues raised in the Japan-India Private Sector Economic Security Dialogue, with policy recommendations revolving around five priority areas identified in the Japan-India Joint Statement from August last year: semiconductors, critical minerals, information and communication technology, clean energy, and pharmaceuticals. Both sides agreed to promote concrete cooperation in these sectors, taking into account the perspectives of businesses, according to a statement from Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Indo-Pacific and Middle East on the Agenda

The two countries also held the Japan-India Foreign Vice-Ministers' Dialogue, during which officials discussed the evolving situation in the Indo-Pacific region and the Middle East, including developments involving Iran. They agreed to cooperate on securing energy and resource supplies and strengthening supply chain resilience for critical goods in light of current regional tensions.

Long-Term Vision Reaffirmed

Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that both sides reaffirmed their commitment to building a complementary relationship across a wide range of areas, guided by the 'Japan-India Joint Vision for the Next Decade' — announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Japan in August last year. The statement underscored the intent to accelerate cooperation in economic growth through investment, innovation, and economic security, with the public and private sectors working in tandem under the Takaichi administration's priorities.

With five strategic sectors now formally prioritised and a human resource action plan under active discussion, the India-Japan partnership appears set for a more institutionalised phase of engagement in the months ahead.