New Delhi

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.

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.

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 here, 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.

Also, a Buddhist delegation from Japan will be invited to India to undertake a spiritual tour of the important Buddhist sites, its said.

Such initiatives will serve to highlight the civilisational and spiritual ties between India and Japan and promote Buddhist tourism from Japan to India.

Events will also span the fields of business, sports and and science and technology.

"SPORT-75 will be launched to promote human exchanges and cooperation between India and Japan in the field of sports, taking note of India's ambition to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2036.

"Celebrating cricket as an emerging bridge of friendship between the peoples of India and Japan, an India-Japan friendship cricket match will be organised during the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 as a curtain-raiser to the 75th anniversary celebrations," the MEA said.

Further, both sides will launch 'Cricket Kizuna-75', under which two coaches from India will visit Japan for conducting a week-long cricket bootcamp for budding Japanese cricketers, further strengthening youth and sporting exchanges between India and Japan.

The India-Japan sports week will be held in February 2027, including an Ekiden (a team relay running) event in Delhi-NCR to promote India-Japan collaboration in sports, the ministry said.

To generate ideas for the next phase of the Special Strategic and Global Partnership, academics, experts, industry and youth voices will be brought together to develop policy recommendations for both governments towards a peaceful, prosperous, resilient and sustainable shared future.

"The second edition of the Ideathon will be held, with participation of Japanese and Indian students, with a view to exploring our innovative future by travelling several cities in India," the MEA said.

Building on the Next-Gen State-Prefecture Partnership between the two countries, Business Connect-75 will be launched to catalyse direct linkages between Indian business clusters and Japanese regional banks and their client enterprises.

India-focused roadshows, business roundtables, cluster visits and curated business interactions will be organised with the participation of Japanese regional banks, Indian states, financial institutions, industry bodies and business associations.

READ MORE: Baraan Ijlal redefines art as motion, memory and resistance

The two sides will further accelerate the promotion of state-prefecture partnerships between local governments, facilitate their mutual visits to commemorate the 75th anniversary, and support networking of local governments, including India-Japan Governors' Network for Friendship and Exchange.