Japan PM Takaichi to Visit India for Annual Summit

New Delhi: Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will undertake a three-day official visit to India from July 1 to 3 at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the 16th India-Japan Annual Summit, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on Friday.

The visit will be the first official trip to India by Takaichi, who became Japan's first female prime minister after assuming office in late 2025.

The MEA said the summit "will provide an opportunity for both sides to review and strengthen the full spectrum of bilateral cooperation as well as exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest."

Discussions are expected to centre on defence ties, supply-chain resilience, and collaboration on semiconductor manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and the automobile sector, driven by shared concerns over regional stability in the Indo-Pacific.

A corporate delegation of approximately 50 Japanese business executives will accompany Takaichi, including representatives from Suzuki Motor, Itochu Corporation, and Toyota Tsusho, underscoring the economic weight of the visit.

The visit follows PM Modi's trip to Tokyo in August 2025 for the 15th India-Japan Annual Summit and reflects the two countries' commitment to their Special Strategic and Global Partnership, the MEA said.

Earlier this month, Modi met Takaichi on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France, where he emphasised that India and Japan will continue to deepen ties across diverse sectors, with trade and investment as priority areas.

Guwahati, Assam had been floated as a possible venue for the summit Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had publicly stated the possibility last week but logistical constraints and Takaichi's tight domestic parliamentary schedule led to the decision to hold the meetings in New Delhi.

Takaichi is a protégé of the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The visit carries a symbolic dimension as well, Abe had been scheduled to visit Guwahati in December 2019 for summit talks with Modi, but that trip was postponed.