PM Modi travels on Shinkansen bullet train; visits semiconductor facility in Sendai

Modi's bullet train ride with his Japan PM Shigeru Ishiba to Sendai, at a distance of over 300 kms from Tokyo, is seen as a reflection of the commitment by the two sides to the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail project.

Tokyo: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday travelled on the Shinkansen bullet train to visit a semiconductor plant at Sendai in the Japanese prefecture of Miyagi, a day after two sides vowed to deepen cooperation in the critical technology sector.

Modi's bullet train ride with Japan PM Shigeru Ishiba to Sendai, at a distance of over 300 kms from Tokyo, is seen as a reflection of the commitment by the two sides to the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail project.

The 508-km project has already faced several delays and cost overruns.

In their summit talks on Friday, the two prime ministers underlined the importance of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed rail project and agreed to work on launching its operations at the earliest, besides rolling out the latest Shinkansen technology in India.

In Sendai, Ishiba hosted a lunch in honour of Modi that was joined by the governor of Miyagi prefecture and other dignitaries.

PM Modi's visit to the Tokyo Electron Miyagi Ltd (TEL Miyagi) highlighted the complementarity between India's growing semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem and Japan's strengths in the sector, an Indian readout said.

TEL Miyagi, a leading Japanese company in the semiconductor sector, has plans for collaborations with India.

Following his visit to TEL Miyagi, Modi said that the semiconductor sector is a key area for India-Japan cooperation.

"PM Ishiba and I visited the Tokyo Electron Factory. We went to the Training Room, Production Innovation Lab and interacted with top officials of the company. The semiconductor sector is a key area for India-Japan cooperation," he said on 'X'.

"In the last few years, India has made many strides in this sector. A lot of youngsters are getting associated with it as well. We seek to continue this momentum in the times to come," he added.

Modi was briefed about TEL's role in the global semiconductor value chain, its advanced manufacturing capabilities and its ongoing and planned collaborations with India.

The visit gave the leaders a practical understanding of the opportunities that exist between the two countries to forge collaboration in the field of semiconductor supply chain, fabrication and testing, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in the readout.

"Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to deepening cooperation in this sector, building on the Memorandum of Cooperation on the Japan–India semiconductor supply chain partnership as well as ongoing partnerships under the India–Japan Industrial Competitiveness Partnership and Economic Security Dialogue," it said.

It said the joint visit by Modi and Ishiba to the facility also underscored the shared vision of India and Japan to develop robust, resilient and trusted semiconductor supply chains.

"Prime Minister Modi conveyed his appreciation to Prime Minister Ishiba for joining him in this visit and reaffirmed India's readiness to work closely with Japan in this strategic domain," the MEA said.

Modi and Ishiba held wide-ranging talks on Friday that also focused on deepening cooperation in the semiconductor sector.

The Indian prime minister landed in Tokyo on Friday on a two-day visit.