Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with the governors of 16 Japanese prefectures in Tokyo on Saturday, as confirmed by Randhir Jaiswal, the official spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs. The discussions centered on expanding collaboration between Indian states and Japanese prefectures across key sectors such as technology, innovation, investment, skills development, startups, and small to medium enterprises.

During the meeting, Modi emphasized the importance of the State-Prefecture Partnership Initiative, launched during the 15th Annual Summit, as a framework for driving shared progress. This initiative aims to strengthen ties at the regional level, fostering deeper economic and cultural exchanges.

The talks align with the recently adopted “India-Japan Joint Vision for the Next Decade,” which outlines eight strategic directions to enhance the special strategic and global partnership between the two nations. These include next-generation economic and security partnerships, mobility, ecological initiatives, technology and innovation, health investments, people-to-people ties, and state-prefecture collaboration.

Notably, the vision sets ambitious targets, such as increasing Japanese public and private investment in India from JPY 5 trillion to JPY 10 trillion. It also focuses on industrial cooperation through the India-Japan Industrial Competitiveness Partnership to support the “Make in India” initiative and improve product quality. Additionally, both nations agreed to promote battery supply chain cooperation to build a robust market and ecosystem.