75th anniversary of India-Japan diplomatic ties to be celebrated with cricket, art, anime events in 2027

Published 3 July 2026 · local

A friendship cricket match, a platform to catalyse direct linkages between Indian business clusters and Japanese regional banks, and a host of other colourful activities

A friendship cricket match, a platform to catalyse direct linkages between Indian business clusters and Japanese regional banks, and a host of other colourful activities to promote art, culture of the two countries and people-to-people ties will be held to mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between India and Japan next year. The two governments, in cooperation with their respective stakeholders, will celebrate 2027 as the 'India-Japan Year of Shared Horizons', the Ministry of External Affairs announced on Thursday (July 2, 2026). Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Sanae Takaichi also spoke about the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries during the latter's visit to India that concluded on Friday (July 3). The MEA in a statement said, "Both sides will work together in planning and holding commemorative programmes throughout the year and across the nations, with particular participation of the youth of both countries." The week of April 28, 2027, will be designated as the "India–Japan Week" to mark the establishment of diplomatic ties through coordinated outreach activities, it said. India-Japan relations were elevated to Global Partnership in 2000, Strategic and Global Partnership in 2006, and Special Strategic and Global Partnership in 2014.

"After World War-II, India did not attend the San Francisco Conference but decided to conclude a separate Peace Treaty with Japan on 28 April 1952, marking the beginning of diplomatic relations. Since then, India–Japan relations have evolved into a comprehensive partnership spanning political, defence, economic, science and technology, education, and cultural ties," according to a note on the India-Japan bilateral relations, published on the MEA website in August 2025. The MEA, in its statement issued on July 2 after the 16th India-Japan annual summit in New Delhi, shared the broad details of the events which would be hosted as part of the platinum jubilee celebrations. A logo and theme competition will be launched, inviting the people of both countries to envision the future of the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership, it said. "Building on the growing resonance of Japanese manga, anime and gaming among Indian youth and India's emergence as a major hub for animation, gaming, comics and immersive creative technologies, IMAGE-75 will be launched to support people-to-people exchanges and promote co-creation in such areas," the statement said. RASA-75 will be launched as a year-long India-Japan arts and culture journey celebrating the colours, sounds, movements and living traditions of both countries, bringing together performing, visual and traditional arts practitioners, cultural institutions, and young creators from both countries, the MEA added.