Relationship dossier
India
Japan
Relationship assessment
India and Japan sustain a broad strategic partnership spanning defense, economic cooperation, and regional affairs.
India toward Japan
+65India has strengthened strategic and defense cooperation with Japan through regular leaders’ meetings, joint defense exercises, and agreements including the civil nuclear cooperation agreement and the military logistics-sharing arrangement.
Japan toward India
+65Japan has pursued a strategic partnership with India through regular leaders’ meetings, economic and infrastructure cooperation, joint defense exercises, and agreements on civil nuclear cooperation and military logistics.
Overall relationship
+65The relationship rests on a durable strategic partnership with practical cooperation in defense, economic development, and regional affairs. Agreements on civil nuclear cooperation and military logistics, alongside recurring high-level engagement and joint exercises, provide substantive foundations. The two countries are partners rather than treaty allies, and their policies are not identical across all international issues.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
India and Japan maintain a sustained strategic partnership, supported by regular leaders’ summits, defense cooperation, economic ties, and coordination on regional and global issues. Their governments have concluded agreements on civil nuclear cooperation and military logistics, and conduct joint defense exercises. The partnership is substantial, though it does not amount to a formal alliance.
Key developments
India and Japan established a strategic partnership and agreed to regular high-level dialogue.
The two governments signed a civil nuclear cooperation agreement.
India and Japan signed an agreement enabling reciprocal provision of supplies and services between their armed forces.
The governments have conducted recurring joint military exercises, including maritime exercises.
Major uncertainties
- The extent and pace of implementation of bilateral defense and infrastructure initiatives may vary.
- The long-term scope of coordination on regional security issues remains uncertain.