A file photo of Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi with his Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar. | Photo credit: The Hindu
With growing concerns over tensions with China and little hope of a Quad Summit in the near future, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi is expected to discuss strengthening India-Japan ties in the Indo-Pacific region during talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in New Delhi on Friday (Jan 16, 2026).
The two ministers will hold the 18th Japan-India Strategic Dialogue and discuss the continuation of Japan’s “Free and Open Indo Pacific” (FOIP) initiative and cooperation in artificial intelligence, semiconductor technology and innovation.
Mr Motegi’s visit is his first to India since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi won party elections to form a new coalition in November 2025, although he also visited in 2019 during his previous term. Ms Takaichi, whose popularity has soared in the past few months, is expected to call snap polls in February to consolidate her position and is expected to announce the dissolution of the lower house of parliament as early as next week.
Mr. Motegi, who is traveling to India at the end of a 9-day tour that included Israel, Palestine and Qatar, will share remarks on the situation in Iran as well as a proposal for peace in Gaza. In addition, he is traveling to India in the Philippines, where he and his Philippine counterpart, Theresa Lazaro, signed two defense deals, including one on reciprocal military access and another to fund patrol boats for the Philippines in the South China Sea, and is also likely to discuss concerns about Chinese moves in the region with Mr Jaishankar.
“The secretary and I also reaffirmed the importance of trilateral cooperation between Japan, the Philippines and the US in the face of an increasingly tight strategic environment,” Motegi said at a joint press conference in Manila on Thursday (Jan 15, 2026).
Japan is keen to hold a second round of talks between senior officials on economic security and open a B2B private sector dialogue on the issue during talks in Delhi on Friday (Jan 16, 2026), officials aware of the agenda said. Japan’s government is worried about the economic impact of its two-month dispute with China over comments by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi that a Chinese takeover of Taiwan would pose an “existential” threat to Japan.
Beijing responded to what it called the threat of action by freezing tourism and trade ties and banning Japanese seafood imports. The Chinese government last week also tightened restrictions on imports of Japanese chemicals used for semiconductors and other goods it described as “dual-use”, which a Japanese government spokesman called “totally unacceptable and deeply regrettable”.
At the same time, India-US tensions over trade and other issues over the past year have delayed the Australia-India-Japan-US Quad Summit, which was expected to include US President Donald Trump’s visit to India in 2025. No dates are currently being discussed for the next Quad Summit, government officials and diplomatic sources confirmed, although the Quad’s Human-Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism (HADR) Working Groups Cooperation took place in December 2025.
The two ministers are expected to discuss Japan’s participation in the upcoming artificial intelligence (AI) summit in Delhi on February 19-20, which will be attended by a specially appointed Japanese minister for IP and AI strategy and launch a separate Japan-India strategic dialogue on artificial intelligence, officials told The Hindu.
They would also discuss progress on the ‘FOIP’ agenda, which includes infrastructure development in India’s northeastern states, through the ‘Act East Forum’ and the India-Japan ‘Kizuna’ dialogue to be held in Shillong next month, officials said.
Published – 15 Jan 2026 20:41 IST
