Japan deepens cooperation with eastern India amid Indo‑Pacific strategy

Japan is expanding its strategic partnership with India’s eastern states—West Bengal, Assam and the Northeast—through agreements covering defence technology, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, critical minerals and energy security. The shift signals Tokyo’s view of eastern India as a key gateway linking South Asia with Southeast Asia via the Bay of Bengal, complementing India’s Act East policy and Japan’s broader Indo‑Pacific outlook.

Separately, former Japanese Justice Minister Hideki Makihara publicly criticised India’s high‑speed rail project, the Mumbai‑Ahmedabad corridor that will use Japanese Shinkansen technology. Makihara described the Indian side as “reckless” and blamed it for delays, noting the project aims for partial operation by August 2027 with trains running up to 320 km/h, cutting travel time between the two financial hubs from over six hours to about two.