- At their July 2, 2026 summit in New Delhi, India and Japan formalised a ¥10 trillion ($61 billion) Japanese investment target over the next decade, with AI infrastructure and semiconductor supply chains as priority areas.
- The two countries signed their first-ever joint defence co-development project, the Naval Radio Antenna “Unicorn” system, under a 2015 equipment transfer agreement, alongside a Joint Statement on AI Cooperation covering governance, cybersecurity and research.
- Japan committed to inviting 500 skilled Indian AI professionals by 2030 and granted India access to a supercomputer managed by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, pairing India’s software capacity with Japan’s infrastructure to accelerate joint AI development.
India and Japan used a single day in New Delhi to do something neither country had done before: sign a joint defence co-development agreement, formalise a $61 billion investment pledge and adopt a dedicated AI cooperation framework, all at the same summit. The 16th India-Japan Annual Summit on July 2, 2026 was, by any measure, the most substantive bilateral meeting between the two countries in years, and the agenda, semiconductors, naval technology, large language models, clean energy, reflects how thoroughly tech supply chains have become instruments of strategic diplomacy.
Deepening AI Cooperation
AI was the clearest focal point. Both governments adopted a Joint Statement on AI Cooperation, describing AI as an “era-defining general-purpose technology” with consequences for innovation, economic security and international order, according to the joint communiqué. The statement calls for building AI systems that are “safe, secure, trustworthy, inclusive and human-centric.”
The practical commitments are specific. India and Japan will jointly develop multilingual, open-source and domain-specific AI models, with an emphasis on native language support and public-interest applications. IIT Bombaythe BharatGen Technology Foundation and Japan’s National Institute of Informatics signed a memorandum of understanding for joint research on large language models. Japan also committed to granting India access to a supercomputer managed by its National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, addressing a longstanding gap in India’s compute infrastructure.
On talent, both countries reaffirmed a goal to invite 500 skilled Indian AI professionals to Japan by 2030, a modest but symbolically clear signal that the partnership is meant to flow in both directions, pairing India’s software capacity with Japan’s precision manufacturing base. The broader cooperation agenda covers governance, cybersecurity, data centre buildout, GPU compute and semiconductor supply chains, with the stated aim of reducing vulnerability to supply disruptions and economic coercion. That work connects directly to the wider effort among democratic governments to set norms for AI development and data governance.
Strengthening Maritime Security
The summit’s most concrete defence outcome was the signing of India and Japan’s first-ever joint defence co-development project: the Naval Radio Antenna “Unicorn” system. Developed by Japanese companies, the antenna carries high stealth capabilities and is the first transfer under the bilateral 2015 agreement on defence equipment and technology, according to the summit’s official readout.
Prime Minister Modi described the project as a milestone in bilateral defence ties. Both leaders cited maritime security and the rules-based international order as the primary rationale for deepening cooperation on advanced defence technologies. They also pledged to strengthen AI-enabled cybersecurity cooperation, with a specific focus on protecting critical infrastructure.
Economic Security and Investment
The headline investment figure is Japan’s commitment to inject ¥10 trillion (approximately $61 billion) into the Indian economy over the next decade, paired with a target to double the number of Japanese companies operating in India. Both governments adopted a Joint Declaration on Economic Security built around five priority sectors: semiconductors, critical minerals, information and communications technology, clean energy and pharmaceuticals.
New joint initiatives announced at the summit include the India-Japan Biogas Initiative, which plans to establish 1,000 biogas and organic fertiliser plants across India, and the India-Japan Next Generation Mobility Partnership Framework, covering clean energy, sustainable mobility and manufacturing. Over 100 new business agreements were reportedly signed between companies from both countries over the past year, according to summit materials.
Strategic Implications for the Indo-Pacific
Both governments reaffirmed their commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific, with the joint statements calling for freedom of navigation and respect for international law. Several passages appear to allude to China, citing concerns over economic coercion and non-market policies, though neither country named Beijing directly.
The joint communiqué positions the Quad alignment between India, Japan, the United States and Australia as an established multilateral channel for coordinating on technology standards and supply chain resilience. India and Japan also intend to coordinate through the G20, OECD, Global Partnership on AI and the UN, with the stated aim of shaping responsible AI governance internationally. The bilateral framework, in other words, is designed to feed into a broader rules-setting effort, not to remain a purely economic arrangement between two countries. For more coverage of AI policy and regulation, visit our AI Policy & Regulation section.
