Japan May Announce $68 Billion India Investment Plan Ahead of PM Modi's Visit: Report

Japan plans to announce a ten-year, USD 68 billion private investment target for India during PM Modi's visit in late August. This doubles the previous five-year goal and aims to strengthen economic ties amid growing Indo-Pacific cooperation.

Japan is considering announcing a 10 trillion yen (USD 68 billion) decade-long private investment target for India when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits later this month, Japan Wire of Kyodo News reported, citing government sources on Thursday. The news platform stated that the new target--an update of a five-year 5 trillion yen investment goal rolled out in 2022--is intended to further spur investment at a time when the two countries are working closely to promote a "free and open Indo-Pacific" in the face of an assertive China.

The Japanese government may mention the target in an outcome document to be issued following summit talks between Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Modi, the Japanese government sources said, according to Kyodo News. 

PM Modi's visit to Japan is scheduled for three days from August 29, the platform reported.

It will be PM's first visit to Japan since May 2023, when he travelled to the Group of Seven summit in the western city of Hiroshima.

The Japanese government said in March 2022, at the time of a visit to India by then Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, that it would aim for 5 trillion yen of public and private investment and financing over five years.

The Indian and Japanese governments are also seeking to agree on a new framework to explore cooperation in economic security, such as for procuring stable supplies of critical goods, according to the news platform, citing sources.

The framework would designate semiconductors, essential minerals, communications, clean energy, artificial intelligence and pharmaceutical products as key areas for discussion.

The two sides are additionally arranging to announce what they call an AI cooperation initiative for the emerging technology and related startups, the news platform further added.

"We hope promoting cooperation between Japanese companies (and their Indian counterparts) in fields where Indian firms have strengths would contribute to the growth of the Japanese economy," one of the sources said, quoted by the Japan Wire. 

During his stay, PM Modi is likely to travel to Sendai, in Miyagi Prefecture in northeastern Japan, to view an experimental shinkansen bullet train car and visit a major Japanese manufacturer of chip-making equipment, according to the sources, stated the report.