Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday arrived in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, as part of his two-day official visit for the 15th India-Japan Annual Summit.

Accompanied by Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, PM Modi travelled from Tokyo to Sendai on the iconic Shinkansen bullet train, a gesture seen as symbolic of the close and growing partnership between India and Japan.

The Ministry of External Affairs highlighted that both leaders journeying together on the high-speed train reflected the warmth and depth of India-Japan friendship. After their arrival in Sendai, the two Prime Ministers continued their travel by car to further demonstrate the strong personal rapport and cooperation between the two sides.

Prime Minister Ishiba also remarked on social media that the joint journey showcased solidarity and commitment to advancing bilateral relations, while PM Modi expressed his appreciation for the camaraderie, calling it a "journey of friendship and progress."

Earlier in the day, both leaders greeted Indian train drivers undergoing training in Japan, underscoring the people-to-people exchange aspect of the partnership.

One of the central highlights of PM Modi’s Sendai visit is his inspection of strategic industrial facilities, particularly those linked to semiconductors and high-speed rail technology. The tour includes a visit to the highly anticipated semiconductor plant located in the Second Northern Sendai Central Industrial Park in Ohira Village.

This facility is a flagship project of Japan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (JSMC), a joint venture between Taiwan’s Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC), SBI Holdings, and several Japanese partners. The Sendai-based semiconductor plant is regarded as one of Japan’s most ambitious endeavours to re-establish its competitive edge in global chip manufacturing.

It is set to produce 12-inch semiconductor wafers, beginning with 40-nanometre process technology before scaling up to the more advanced 28 nm and 55 nm nodes. The primary application of these chips will be in the rapidly growing automotive electronics sector, particularly for electric vehicles (EVs) and next-generation mobility solutions, areas where demand is forecast to surge in the coming decade.

Once fully operational, the facility is expected to achieve a production capacity of approximately 40,000 wafers per month, thereby significantly contributing to Japan’s efforts to secure a stable, domestic semiconductor supply chain at a time when global chip demand continues to exceed availability.

The visit also includes a stop at a cutting-edge bullet train coach manufacturing site, further demonstrating India’s sustained interest in Japan’s advanced railway engineering and technology. India’s own high-speed rail development, particularly the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project, relies heavily on Japanese expertise and technological partnership, making this visit highly significant from a strategic and developmental perspective.

In their bilateral discussions, Prime Ministers Modi and Ishiba touched upon broad areas of cooperation, spanning economic collaboration, semiconductor production, mobility solutions, and defence ties.

The summit reflects the growing convergence of interests between India and Japan in fostering resilient supply chains, technological innovation, and deeper economic synergies, particularly in high-value strategic industries.

PM Modi’s visit to Sendai thus represents not only a diplomatic milestone in reinforcing bilateral relations with Japan but also a clear alignment of future-oriented sectors—semiconductors, advanced transportation, and clean mobility.

By participating in a joint inspection of these critical facilities, both leaders underlined their shared commitment to innovation-driven growth, industrial resilience, and strengthening the Indo-Pacific’s technological ecosystem.

This engagement feeds into the broader agenda of the India-Japan strategic partnership, which increasingly serves as a cornerstone of regional economic and security architecture in a fast-evolving global environment.

Based On ANI Report