Published: 11:57 AM, 18 November 2025
Takaichi’s Japan looks to India
In Brief >> ”Sanae Takaichi’s election as Japan’s first female prime minister signals both a symbolic shift and strategic return to Abe-era conservatism. Her leadership promises continuity in Japan’s Indo-Pacific outlook and closer cooperation with India across defence, technology and energy. Takaichi’s Japan is likely to favour steady, interest-driven diplomacy, consolidating influence through pragmatic relationships with strategically aligned regional partners.”
The run-up to Japan’s prime ministerial elections concluded with the victory of Sanae Takaichi in a parliamentary vote against her Constitutional Democratic Party opponent Yoshihiko Noda. She previously won the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) presidency in a close race against then-agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi.
Takaichi’s victory represents a symbolic shift in the LDP’s political climate, marked by the defeat of a prominent male political dynast such as Koizumi — even as the party struggles with the increasing clout of right-wing organisations like Sanseito. As the first female candidate to become Japan’s prime minister, her rise carries profound weight amid the country’s persistent gender inequality. But as a long-time protege of former prime minister Shinzo Abe, Takaichi represents the LDP’s conservative, hardline faction and is expected to extend his ideological legacy.
At home, she faces intense debate over wage–inflation dynamics, gender equality and immigration policies. Abroad, she must navigate an increasingly demanding Trump administration and its tariff regime, persistent tensions with China and friction with ASEAN and South Korea over her views on military remembrance. Despite lacking foreign policy experience, Takaichi is expected to follow in Abe’s footsteps in advocating greater defence capabilities and actively countering Chinese capacity-building exercises — though she will have to confront these challenges head-on as her parliamentary strength remains limited.
Takaichi’s policy approach would likely revive Abe-era cooperation priorities with key partners like India. Her strong affirmation of Abe’s ‘Free and Open Indo-Pacific’ vision and call to establish a ‘quasi-alliance’ with India support this expectation. Her image as a ‘China hawk’ with a nationalist, ‘Japan first’ outlook means she will likely view India as a trusted partner to counter Chinese assertiveness.
Key policy domains will define Japan’s bilateral relationship with India under Takaichi. Her assertive approach will involve supporting defence buildup and diversifying Japan’s security cooperation arrangements beyond its alliance with the United States, situating India, Australia and South Korea as central strategic partners. This builds upon India and Japan’s co-development of the Unified Complex Radio Antenna mast technology, which has enhanced mutual stealth capabilities and communication systems in the naval domain — and indicates the potential of future India–Japan collaboration. Cooperation could extend further into domains like joint ventures in India’s Defence Industrial Corridors.
Takaichi’s background as former economic security minister gives her much-needed experience in developing strategic cooperation with India, particularly in supply chain diversification, semiconductor development and resilience measures against techno-economic risks in the Indo-Pacific. On this front, her approach will likely follow the path charted by her predecessor, Shigeru Ishiba, under the ‘Joint Vision for Next Decade’ agreed with Prime Minister Modi during the 15th India–Japan Annual Summit in August 2025.
The space domain will remain a focus as new arrangements like the joint Chandrayaan-5 lunar mission emerge. Developing a shared space industry through startup support and technology sharing could strengthen cooperation on satellite and ground infrastructure. These efforts could serve as the basis of a broader regional ecosystem by offering reliable space services to ASEAN and Africa.
Takaichi’s approach to immigration and labour mobility may bring challenges. She favours reforming immigration policy and tighter visa regulations, which may pose challenges for technical interns and low- and semi-skilled workers from India, including those involved in nursing and care work. Yet she supports targeted migration for skilled professionals, which could benefit workers from India’s information technology, aerospace and cybersecurity industries. The Human Resource Exchange program, finalised with India by former prime minister Ishiba, offers a framework for cooperation on immigration — provided India works with Japan to create structured, government-certified pathways for labour and student exchange.
Energy cooperation will also feature in Takaichi’s priorities. Her preference for expanding nuclear energy to diversify Japan’s energy basket offers India an opportunity to collaborate on research, development and technology transfer for technologies like small modular reactors. Her selective approach to renewables means India will have to recalibrate its approach to collaboration with Japan on alternative energy technologies like electric vehicles, storage technology and grid connectivity. Takaichi’s approach to energy security will reposition bilateral exchanges towards efficient energy diversification measures and away from climate change-related initiatives.
India–Japan ties are set to strengthen under Takaichi across economic, defence and technological domains, though differences may arise in labour mobility and human resource exchange. Bilateral trade and investment are likely to improve in critical sectors, despite India having to adapt to Takaichi’s sharper focus on Japan’s national interest. Her firm position on China’s expansionism resonates with India’s concerns, paving the way for deeper collaboration through multilateral forums such as the Quad and enhanced joint military exercises.
Japan’s increased willingness under Takaichi to invest abroad offers further opportunities for India to attract Japanese capital in sectors like semiconductors, green energy, infrastructure and defence technologies. While soft diplomacy and cultural cooperation may not be high on Takaichi’s priority list, given her domestically focused leadership, the strategic foundation of the relationship remains solid. Takaichi’s leadership promises to revive the Abe-era enthusiasm towards India in a new form, blending traditional areas of engagement with new domains of innovation.
Pen & Ink by: Shashank Khandwe & Simran Walia (S Khandwe is a PhD Candidate at the Centre for Indo-Pacific Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, & S Walia is Research Analyst at the Southeast Asia and Oceania Centre, Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses, New Delhi.)
>> Source: East Asia Forum
