00:00Japan's Prime Minister Saneh Takechi is in New Delhi right now, for next three days,
00:05for what's officially called the 16th India-Japan Annual Summit.
00:09On the surface, sounds routine.
00:11Leaders meet every year, right?
00:13But look a little closer, and the timing here is honestly kind of loud.
00:18Just weeks before this, the United States quietly did something most people didn't
00:22even notice.
00:23It renamed its Indo-Pacific Command back to what it used to be called the Pacific Command.
00:29Now, one word gone, Indo, that's it.
00:32But that one word meant something.
00:34It was America's way of saying India matters to us in this whole China equation.
00:39Dropping it, a lot of analysts are reading that as Washington quietly stepping back.
00:45Some are even saying India is being edged out of America's most urgent plans, especially
00:51anything to do with Taiwan.
00:53So when Japan's PM picks this exact moment to fly into Delhi, full schedule, business,
00:59delegation in tow, a stack of deals ready to sign, you have to ask, is that a coincidence?
01:05Probably not.
01:07The message feels pretty clear.
01:09If the US is stepping back, Japan's stepping forward.
01:12India isn't becoming less important.
01:14It's just finding a new partner willing to say out loud right now.
01:20Welcome viewers.
01:21You are watching One India's special news program, India Global.
01:25And I'm Abhay.
01:26The most important part is this isn't just a photo of a visit.
01:30There's a real substance here.
01:32We are talking close to a dozen agreements in AI, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, battery
01:37tech, critical minerals.
01:38Around 120 business deals between Indian and Japanese companies are expected to sign in
01:44this next three days.
01:46But here's the number that really stands out.
01:48Japan has committed to more than double its investment in India.
01:52Over 61 billion dollars.
01:54Yes, that's right.
01:5561 billion dollars over the next decade.
01:57On top of it, a 10-year roadmap for tech and digital cooperation.
02:02And a plan to move over half million people between the two countries in the next five years.
02:08So really, infrastructure, clean energy, cutting-edge tech, skilled jobs.
02:12This visit touches almost every sector that actually shapes India's future.
02:18But let's understand this.
02:20None of this is just appeared out of nowhere.
02:23Someone built the foundation for it.
02:25And that someone was Shinzo Abe.
02:28Abe wasn't just friendly with India.
02:30He was the guy who actually came up with the idea that still shapes how the whole region
02:35thinks about the strategy today.
02:37The free and open Indo-Pacific.
02:40His vision was clear.
02:41He's the one who said India, Japan, Australia and the US, we need to work together to keep
02:47these seas open.
02:49So no single power, that means China, gets to dominate them.
02:52He's also the one who pulled the cord back from the dead when everyone had basically forgotten
02:58about it.
02:59And his bond with India, it was personal.
03:02His address India's parliament, he was chief guest at India's Republic Day.
03:06He and PM Modi had this genuinely warm friendship.
03:09The kind you don't usually see between two heads of the government.
03:13India actually honoured him with the Padma Vibhushan, one of the country's highest civilian
03:18awards.
03:19That's rare.
03:20Very few foreign leaders get that.
03:22Abe passed away in 2022.
03:24But what he built is still standing.
03:26And honestly, it's exactly what's being renewed in Delhi this week.
03:30Ok, so here's the strategic heart of all this.
03:33As America pulls back from its old coalition-style approach to Asia, someone has to hold that
03:39balance against China.
03:40And increasingly, that job is falling on the region itself.
03:44Which is exactly why a strong India-Japan-Australia triangle matters more now than it ever has.
03:50Think about what each side brings.
03:52Japan.
03:53Capital.
03:54Cutting-edge technology.
03:56Manufacturing muscle.
03:57Australia resources.
03:58And a pretty firm strategic stance.
04:00India brings scale, massive market, control over the Indian Ocean sea lanes.
04:06The very roots China depends on is for energy and trade.
04:10Put those three together through the cord and through direct ties with each other.
04:15And you get something China simply can't offer the rest of Asia.
04:18A credible, trusted alternative.
04:21No coercion attached.
04:22That's not a small thing.
04:24That, honestly, might be the thing that keeps this region stable for the next decade.
04:29Now zoom out for a second.
04:31Because Japan's fingerprints are already all over India's goat story.
04:35Quietly for years.
04:36India's first bullet train, Mumbai to Ahmedabad, that's a Japanese project.
04:40Delhi Metro, one of the best urban transport systems in the world.
04:44Built with heavy Japanese support.
04:451400 Japanese companies operate in India today.
04:49Nearly half of them in manufacturing.
04:51You see it on the roads every day.
04:54Maruti Suzuki.
04:55And behind the scenes, in supply chains, most people never even think about.
05:00And here's the part that I think gets missed the most.
05:02This partnership isn't just about strategy on paper.
05:06It fits strategically almost perfectly.
05:08Japan is one of the fastest aging countries on the planet.
05:12Its workforce is shrinking every year.
05:15And its industries genuinely need skilled hands to keep running.
05:19India, on the other hand, has the youngest largest workforce in the world.
05:24Millions of trainable young people entering the job market every single year.
05:27So it's really no surprise that this visit includes a plan to send 50,000 skilled Indian professionals
05:33to Japan.
05:35This isn't charity.
05:36It's not even just diplomacy.
05:38Honestly, its two economies just fit.
05:42One that needs hands, one that has them.
05:44When India was fighting for its freedom, Indian thinker Rabitna Tagore gave a fierce advice
05:50to Japan.
05:51He said,
05:52I do not for a moment suggest that Japan should be unmindful of acquiring modern weapons of self-protection.
05:58She must know that the real power is not in the weapons themselves, but in the man who
06:04wields those weapons.
06:06He said, real power isn't in the weapon, it's in the person who wields it.
06:10Maybe today we can stretch that a little further.
06:12Real power in this century isn't just about weapons or money.
06:17It's the partnerships nations choose to build, with patience, with trust, over decades,
06:23not just headlines.
06:24India and Japan chose each other a long time ago.
06:27And as the old order in Asia shifts under everyone's feet, this is one relationship
06:32that isn't wobbling.
06:33It's standing right where it always has.
06:36Steady, deliberate and built to last.
06:39Thank you viewers for tuning in and keep watching One India News for more international news.
06:46Subscribe to One India and never miss an update.
06:51Download the One India app now.
06:55Stay tuned.
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