Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was formally welcomed at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Thursday. During this he was given a guard of honour. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was also present in the welcome ceremony. Takaichi will participate in the 16th annual summit meeting of India-Japan with Prime Minister Modi today. Issues related to investment, trade, semiconductor, critical minerals, defence, maritime security and Indo-Pacific region will be discussed between the two leaders. This is Takaichi’s first visit to India after becoming Prime Minister. Discussions are also expected to further strengthen the strategic and economic partnership between the two countries. India and Japan are preparing to reduce the role of US dollar in trade. According to the report of Nikkei Asia, both the countries are working on creating such a system by which business payments can be made directly in Indian Rupee and Japanese Yen. This proposal can be announced after the meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in New Delhi. Sanae Takaichi is coming on a 3-day visit to India today. This will be his first visit to India after becoming Prime Minister. In the 16th India-Japan annual summit to be held between the two leaders, many important issues like trade, investment, defence, semiconductor, artificial intelligence, automobile, supply chain and security of the Indo-Pacific region will be discussed. Dependence on dollar will reduce, direct payment through special account. If this proposal related to payment between India and Japan is implemented, then for the first time a formal arrangement will be made between the two countries regarding trade in local currencies. Under this scheme, Japanese companies will be able to transact directly in rupees and yen by opening special accounts in Indian banks. That means, there will be no need for US dollars or any third country bank for the transaction. With this system, the cost of converting foreign currency will be reduced, the cost of sending money will reduce and payments will be made faster than before. Both countries hope that this will make business easier and companies will save both time and money. The agreement was made in 2025, now preparations are being made to implement. To promote the use of local currencies, the Finance Ministry of Japan is preparing to enter into a cooperation agreement (MoC) with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) during the financial year 2026. This proposal is not entirely new. During Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Japan in August 2025, both the countries had released a common vision document for the next 10 years. There was also talk of increasing payment system and trade in local currencies. Now the same plan is being taken forward. India has also been promoting international trade in rupees for the last few years. In July 2022, RBI had started ‘Special Rupee Vostro Account’, so that trade can be done in rupees with other countries. Later the scope of this arrangement was expanded and foreign banks were also allowed to invest the excess amount deposited in these accounts in Indian government bonds. India is already increasing business in rupees. The government had told in Parliament that till now 156 special rupee vostro accounts have been opened in 26 banks of India for 123 foreign banks of 30 countries. RBI says that this will reduce dependence on strong foreign currencies in international trade and will increase the global use of rupee. Japan is also promoting trade in local currencies with other countries in Asia. In December 2025, it had signed a similar agreement with Indonesia to promote all types of transactions between the two countries in local currencies. Japanese investment in India is increasing. Economic relations between India and Japan are continuously strengthening. In the financial year 2025-26, there was trade of $ 27.5 billion between the two countries. Between April and December 2025, Japan invested $3.2 billion in India. At the same time, Japan has also set a target of investing more than 61 billion dollars in India in the next 10 years. At present, about 1,400 Japanese companies are working in India, of which almost half are involved in the manufacturing sector. Japan is also investing in many big infrastructure projects including the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Project. Recently, the Japanese company has also invested $1.6 billion to buy 20% stake in Yes Bank. Both the leaders will also meet industry representatives during this visit. Apart from this, there is also a possibility of discussion on security and strategic cooperation of Quad, Indo-Pacific region. 5 special things about India-Japan trade: Japan is the fifth largest country investing in India. By March 2026, its total investment had reached ₹4.58 lakh crore. India-Japan set a target of Japanese private investment of 10 trillion Japanese Yen (₹5.84 lakh crore) for the next 10 years in the year 2025. This investment will mainly be in semiconductor, clean energy and high-tech defense industries. According to a survey, India is the world’s most preferred and trusted investment country for Japanese companies. More than 75% of Japanese companies doing business in India are profitable. India and Japan have launched a special strategic dialogue in 2025 to strengthen the supply chain of semiconductors and critical minerals like lithium, cobalt to reduce global dependence on China. The Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail project is progressing entirely with the help of Japanese Shinkansen technology and Japanese loan, which is the biggest symbol of cooperation between the two countries. ———————————— Also read this news related to Japan… For the first time, a woman became Prime Minister in Japan: She is a supporter of strong army and amendment in the constitution, Modi-Trump congratulated Sanae Takaichi has been elected Prime Minister of Japan. She is the first female Prime Minister of Japan. Takaichi won the elections in the lower house of parliament by 237 votes against 149. Read the full news here…
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