Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday highlighted semiconductors as a “strategic domain” in India-Japan cooperation while also urging Japanese prefectures to deepen grassroots-level partnerships with Indian states, calling for broader participation in “India’s growth story.”
During his two-day official visit to Japan, PM Modi, accompanied by Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, travelled on the iconic Shinkansen to Sendai in Miyagi Prefecture, where the two leaders visited Tokyo Electron Miyagi Ltd (TEL Miyagi), a leading firm in the semiconductor sector. At the facility, they inspected the training room, the Production Innovation Lab, and interacted with executives on advancing collaboration in chip manufacturing, testing, and supply chains.
“Semiconductors are an important field in India-Japan cooperation. India has made significant progress in this sector, with many young people now involved. I hope to continue this momentum in the future,” PM Modi said in a post on X. He also conveyed his appreciation to PM Ishiba for joining the visit, reaffirming India’s readiness to work closely with Japan in the semiconductor ecosystem.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said the visit provided “a practical understanding of the opportunities that exist between the two countries to forge collaboration in the field of semiconductor supply chain, fabrication, and testing.” The complementarity between India’s emerging chip manufacturing ecosystem and Japan’s strengths in advanced equipment and technology was underscored, with both sides reiterating their commitment to building robust, resilient, and trusted supply chains under the Japan-India Semiconductor Supply Chain Partnership and other frameworks.
Later in Tokyo, PM Modi met governors of 16 Japanese prefectures, underlining the significance of state-level and regional partnerships to strengthen bilateral relations. He urged them to leverage the State-Prefecture Partnership Initiative, launched at the 15th Annual Summit, to boost collaboration in manufacturing, technology, innovation, mobility, startups, SMEs, and cultural exchanges.
“India-Japan contemporary ties, rooted in civilisational connections, have continued to flourish. It is time to give a renewed push to State-Prefecture engagement beyond ties centred around Tokyo and Delhi,” PM Modi said, inviting governors to “optimally combine Japanese technology with Indian talent.”
The governors, in turn, emphasised that sub-national collaboration was crucial to advancing India-Japan business, educational, cultural, and people-to-people ties. According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), discussions focused on enhancing cooperation in technology, investment, skills, and innovation to take the partnership to the “next level of ambition.”
This marks PM Modi’s eighth visit to Japan and his second in two years, the last being in May 2023. His current visit, from August 29–30, comes at the invitation of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
