This is a detailed account of Prime Minister Ishiba's press conference following the joint visit to Miyagi Prefecture with Indian Prime Minister Modi, outlining specific conversations and future directions for Japan-India cooperation.
Concrete Progress in Shinkansen Technology Cooperation
The two leaders traveled together on the Tohoku Shinkansen for 1.5 hours to Sendai, discussing railway technologies throughout the journey. While Prime Minister Modi had previously experienced the Tokaido Shinkansen, this was his first time on the Tohoku Shinkansen. He personally experienced the speed from the driver's cab and appreciated the comfort. Extensive discussions covered the introduction of high-speed railways in India, which has nine times Japan's land area, including contributions to economic development, fare structures, transportation of both passengers and freight, and the possibility of overnight sleeper services.
At Omiya Station, they inspected the test train "ALFA-X," which serves as the test vehicle for the new E10 series planned for introduction to India. Since the E10 series represents world-first technology, actual commercial vehicles do not yet exist, but the test vehicle provided a concrete image of high-speed railway technology for India. This marks an important step forward in adopting Japanese Shinkansen technology and rolling stock, a goal consistently pursued from the Abe administration through the Suga and Kishida administrations to the current Ishiba administration.
Strategic Cooperation in Semiconductor Industry
At Tokyo Electron's semiconductor manufacturing equipment production facility, both leaders jointly inspected equipment scheduled for delivery to India. This represents not merely exports, but a concrete example of bidirectional cooperation where diversification of export destinations for Japanese companies and development of India's semiconductor industry mutually benefit both nations. They agreed to cooperate in strengthening semiconductor supply chain resilience and enhancing economic security.
Strategic Partnership in Africa and Indian Ocean Region
Building on last week's TICAD (Tokyo International Conference on African Development) outcomes, they engaged in deep discussions with a strategic perspective viewing Africa, India, and the Indian Ocean as an integrated region. Both Japan and India share common values in African support—peace-building, life improvement, and security stabilization—achieving complete agreement on cooperation for the happiness of people in this region.
Comprehensive Cooperation Outcomes and Future Prospects
This summit produced extensive cooperation agreements: 5 summit-level outcome documents, 10 government memorandums of understanding, and 170 private sector memorandums. They reconfirmed that Japan's role is extremely important in realizing a "Free and Open Indo-Pacific" within the Japan-US-Australia-India (QUAD) framework, deepening understanding of building effective cooperation systems including US engagement.
The article concludes that this Miyagi visit achieved significant results far beyond a mere goodwill visit, substantially advancing concrete cooperative relationships across diverse fields including high-speed railway technology, semiconductor industry, Africa-Indian Ocean strategy, and QUAD cooperation.