Japan's business engagement with India is steadily accelerating and now outpaces the growth of Japan-China business engagement, according to a new report from Japanese news site Nippon.com. The cumulative total of direct Japanese investment in India between April 2000 and March 2026 reached $48.1 billion, positioning Japan in fifth place among foreign investors. Japanese investment in 2025 alone was $3.74 billion, while bilateral trade crossed $25 billion in the same fiscal year. As reported by Nippon.com, India took the top spot in JBIC's Report on Overseas Business Operations by Japanese Companies in 2025 for the fourth consecutive year as the 'most promising' business expansion destination over the next three years.
Tokyo and New Delhi have committed to greater energy security cooperation and strengthening critical mineral supply chain resilience, according to the Nippon.com report. The visit by Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae to India 'turned out to be a meaningful one for the bilateral relationship', as reported by Nippon.com. Japan continues to maintain a substantial trade surplus with India, but India is redoubling efforts to diversify its own export sectors including seafood, textiles, and jewellery and destinations, as noted in the report. The report from SocialNews.XYZ highlights that Tokyo is stepping up investment, defence cooperation and technology partnerships with India, demonstrating the expanding scope of bilateral cooperation.
Over 75 per cent of Japanese companies operating in India expect a profit in the current financial year, according to another popular survey cited in the report. Japan's public and private sectors, facing a shortage of science and technology talent, have intensified their efforts to recruit Indian engineers and technical experts through internships and corporate partnerships. As reported by Nippon.com, Japan must push forward with India in developing new markets, strengthening supply chains, and forging new people-to-people relations, given the nation's declining birthrate and shortage of skilled workers.
India and Singapore are working on a significant cross-border energy project that could further strengthen regional cooperation. As reported by Business Standard, Minister of State for Power Shripad Yesso Naik announced plans for a 2,000 MW interconnection from Imphal to Singapore through Myanmar, Thailand and Malaysia. This 3,000-km land-based transmission corridor aims to boost electricity trade, clean energy integration and regional energy security. Speaking at the 20th East Asia Summit Energy Ministers' Meeting in Manila, Naik emphasized India's commitment to strengthening regional energy cooperation and energy security, while expressing readiness to share expertise in renewable energy deployment and clean energy technologies with participating countries.
