Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the governors of 16 prefectures in Japan on Saturday, urging them to participate in “India’s growth story” by tapping into new initiatives and forging partnerships with Indian state governments.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the meeting reaffirmed India’s commitment to deepening bilateral ties with Japan through grassroots and regional-level collaborations.
The discussions underscored the growing role of the State-Prefecture Partnership Initiative, designed to foster cooperation between Indian states and Japanese prefectures in a wide range of strategic sectors.
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In his address, Modi noted that contemporary India-Japan ties, rooted in age-old civilisational linkages, “have continued to flourish.”
A statement by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said he highlighted the momentum in the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership across multiple domains, stressing that the time had come to give a “renewed push” to State-Prefecture engagement, moving beyond ties centred around Tokyo and Delhi.
Modi underlined that the State-Prefecture Partnership Initiative, launched at the 15th Annual Summit, would provide a boost to trade, technology, tourism, skills, security and cultural linkages between the two countries.
He urged Japanese Governors and Indian state governments to “leverage the new initiative and forge partnerships” in manufacturing, technology, innovation, mobility, next-generation infrastructure, start-ups and SMEs.
Noting that each prefecture in Japan has niche economic and technological strengths while Indian states have diverse capabilities, the Prime Minister invited the Governors to contribute to “India’s growth story.”
He also called for stronger youth and skills exchange programmes, adding that the two sides could “optimally combine Japanese technology with Indian talent.”
The Governors emphasised that sub-national collaboration would be vital in advancing India-Japan business, educational, cultural and people-to-people ties to what they described as “the next level of ambition.”
Sharing details of the meeting, the MEA said, “Taking greater strides in the steadfast India-Japan ties. PM Narendra Modi met with the Governors of 16 prefectures in Tokyo. PM highlighted the potential of states-prefectures collaboration and, in this regard, urged action under the State-Prefecture Partnership Initiative launched during the 15th Annual Summit for shared progress.”
“Discussions focused on ways to further deepen the growing partnerships between Indian states and Japanese prefectures in the fields of technology, innovation, investment, skills, start-ups and SMEs,” the ministry added in a post on X.
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