A file image of Japan 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 the Quad Summit in the near future, Japan’s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi is expected to discuss strengthening India-Japan ties in the Indo-Pacific during talks with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in Delhi on Friday (January 16, 2026).
The two Ministers will hold the 18th Japan-India Strategic Dialogue and discuss taking forward the Japanese initiative for a “Free and Open Indo Pacific” (FOIP) and cooperation on Artificial Intelligence, semiconductor technology and innovation.
The visit by Mr. Motegi is his first to India since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi won party elections and formed a new coalition in November 2025, although he had visited in 2019 during his previous tenure as well. Ms. Takaichi, whose popularity has surged in the past few months, is expected to call snap polls in February in order to consolidate her position, and is expected to make the announcement to dissolve the lower house of parliament as early as next week.
Mr. Motegi, who is travelling to India at the end of a 9-day tour that included Israel, Palestine and Qatar, will share notes on the situation in Iran as well as the Gaza Peace Proposal. In addition, he is travelling to India to the Philippines, where he and his Philippines counterpart Theresa Lazaro signed two defence agreements, including one for reciprocal military access and another to fund patrol boats for the Philippines in the South China Sea, and is likely to discuss concerns over Chinese movement in the region with Mr. Jaishankar as well.
“The Secretary and I also confirmed the importance of the Japan, Philippines, U.S. trilateral cooperation in the face of an increasingly severe strategic environment,” Mr. Motegi said in a joint news conference in Manila on Thursday (January 15, 2026).
During talks on Friday (January 16, 2026) in Delhi, Japan is keen to hold the 2nd of round of talks between senior officials on economic security, and begin a B2B private sector dialogue on the issue, said officials aware of the agenda for talks. The Japanese government is concerned over the economic impact of its 2-month long spat with China over comments by Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi, where she said a Chinese takeover of Taiwan would pose an “existential” threat to Japan.
Beijing retaliated to what it called a threat of action by freezing tourism and trade ties and banning imports of Japanese seafood. Last week, the Chinese government also stepped up restrictions on the import of Japanese chemicals used for semiconductors and other goods it labelled “dual-use”, which the Japanese government spokesperson called “absolutely unacceptable and deeply regrettable.“
At the same time, India-U.S. tensions over trade and other issues over the past year have held up the Australia-India-Japan-U.S. Quad Summit, for which U.S. President Donald Trump was expected to visit India in 2025. No dates are being discussed for the next Quad Summit at present, government and diplomatic sources officials confirmed, although Quad working groups on Counter-terrorism (CTWG) and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Cooperation were held 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 Japan’s specially-designated “IP & AI Strategy” Minister would attend and would set up a separate Japan-India AI Strategic Dialogue, officials told The Hindu.
They would also go over progress on the “FOIP” agenda that includes development of infrastructure in India’s North Eastern States, through the “Act East Forum” and the India-Japan “Kizuna” Dialogue, set to be held in Shillong next month, the officials said.
Published – January 15, 2026 08:41 pm IST
