Japan and India pledged to work together on issues from maritime security to artificial intelligence in an effort to reduce reliance on China
By Atul Dev
and Sakura Murakami /
Bloomberg
Standing in front of fresh lilies and silver statues of peafowls, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Sanae Takaichi shared the new dynamic they have settled on: “little sister” and “big brother.”“I was just referred to as ‘a beautiful little sister,’” Takaichi said with a smile during the brief remarks following their meeting. “In our earlier talks, we promised to work together as brother and sister.”Takaichi’s first official visit to India did not deliver the same kind of headline-grabbing ￥10 trillion (US$62 billion) investment pledge made last year. Instead, it marked a deepening in ties as the warmth of the leaders’ exchanges was accompanied by agreements on everything from joint naval exercises to the production of a Bollywood film on Japan’s northernmost island of Hokkaido.
