Shashi Tharoor India Japan Asia Partnership

When Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was in Delhi last week, I was in Japan. There was no connection between the two trips, but we both had a common message: A stronger India-Japan relationship is imperative for both countries at this time of global turbulence.

The first official three-day visit of PM Takaichi for the 16th India-Japan Annual Summit (July 1 to 3) marked a major turning point for Indo-Pacific diplomacy, injecting a massive $12.5 billion in fresh Japanese investment into infrastructure and manufacturing sectors, effectively transforming the alliance into an economic powerhouse. Takaichi’s milestone visit yielded 129 MoUs, primarily driven by the India-Japan Joint Economic Forum, which hosted over 150 leading Japanese corporations looking to anchor their capital in India’s expanding ecosystem. By establishing a comprehensive roadmap for resilient supply chains in critical technology sectors, including semiconductors, telecommunications, and critical minerals, the partnership actively seeks to reduce vulnerability to single-source global networks and external market disruptions.

The summit solidified deep defence cooperation by committing to joint manufacturing of advanced military hardware, introducing the first military hardware co-development project focusing on cutting-edge naval technology like the Unified Complex Radio Antenna masts, alongside advanced bilateral deliberations regarding the future co-production of Mogami-class stealth frigates. Coupled with wide-ranging agreements on high-level AI safety standards, digital development frameworks, and a clean energy initiative spanning proposals for large-scale green ammonia and a rollout plan for 1,000 regional biogas plants, the summit positioned the partnership as a significant, multifaceted geopolitical counterweight in the region.

The structural alignment underscores that beyond trade and investment, the contemporary geopolitical reality demands that India and Japan build Asia’s most trusted civilisational partnership, one rooted in shared history, values, and democratic systems. At a historical moment when democracies worldwide are under stress, India and Japan stand as unique anchors of stable democratic governance in Asia, collectively representing one-fifth of humanity living under the rule of law. The strategic alignment formalised via the Quad is not a military alliance but a civilisational commitment to a free, open, and rules-based Indo-Pacific that respects national sovereignty and institutional resilience. By combining their voices, both nations are building an alternative blueprint for global governance, proving that technological progress, environmental sustainability, and commitment to human values can coexist within a fractured global order.

This civilisational cohesion finds an immediate practical application when addressing the stark demographic contrasts that define both societies. While their demographic trajectories appear diametrically opposed, they present an opportunity for complementarity. Japan faces an unprecedented demographic contraction, marked by a shrinking labour force and an ageing society that places severe stress on healthcare systems, hospitality, and technological management. Conversely, India continues to experience expansive demographic growth, with millions of young, technically literate citizens entering the workforce annually but facing unemployment. A holistic, long-term talent and mobility collaboration can transform this contrast into shared economic benefits. By pairing Japan’s acute labour shortages with structured, multidisciplinary talent-acquisition frameworks, Indian professionals can contribute substantively to Japan’s socio-economic security. This arrangement must transcend short-term, myopic migration; it demands an immigration policy framework that prioritises cultural orientation, and robust institutional support to protect workers while delivering highly specialised care and management to Japan’s silver economy.

This demographic synergy forms the cornerstone of what must become a joint India-Japan care economy. As Japan navigates its post-industrial demographic transition, it has pioneered sophisticated models of eldercare, rehabilitative robotics, and age-appropriate infrastructure. In the coming decades, India will paradoxically house one of the world’s largest elderly populations alongside its youthful workforce, rendering Japan’s current domestic challenges an essential preview for our future. Through joint venture initiatives, research-based collaborations, and knowledge transfers, India can proactively draw inspiration from Japanese models to develop a sustainable care economy before ageing becomes an acute national crisis.

An equally transformative dimension of this partnership lies in expanding female labour force participation. By designing structured pathways for Indian women to access certified training and deployment in Japan (under guaranteed conditions of safe housing, career progression, and harassment-free workplace protocols), both nations can simultaneously address Japan’s care vacuum and advance female inclusion within India’s domestic workforce.

The bridge between these demographic initiatives and industrial durability lies in the integration of Japanese hardware excellence with Indian digital innovation. Celebrated for its peerless precision engineering, robotics, and advanced manufacturing, Japan possesses the material solutions to the physical supply-chain problems of the twenty-first century. India, conversely, has demonstrated global leadership in developing expansive digital public infrastructure, scalable software architectures, and highly adaptable AI applications. The two nations can co-develop next-generation assistive technologies, smart medical devices, and automated logistics networks. This synthesis ensures that economic growth remains anchored in real-world productivity, creating resilient industrial clusters that can insulate both nations from external supply shocks.

The true measure of the India-Japan partnership will be its capacity to foster an inclusive economic paradigm that prioritises the expansion of a stable middle class. India’s developmental vision cannot be measured solely by GDP; true prosperity requires an egalitarian framework where the benefits of growth are democratised. In this pursuit, Japan’s post-war economic miracle serves as the ultimate inspiration, demonstrating that enduring national stability and prosperity emerge when economic policies strengthen ordinary citizens. By shifting the focus of economic cooperation towards manufacturing hubs, logistics networks, and technological infrastructure in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, India can replicate Japan’s success in driving regional balance and upward social mobility.

As India and Japan step forward into an era defined by global uncertainty, my visit convinced me that their deepening alliance offers a powerful, constructive model for the world: Proof that two great civilisations can align their economic security, demographic strategies, and technological futures to build a more stable, equitable, and democratic Indo-Pacific.

The writer is a fourth-term Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) for Thiruvananthapuram and chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs