People-to-people ties form the cultural foundation of India-Japan relations, rooted in over 1,200 years of civilizational interaction through Buddhism, art, literature and education. Historical figures including Bodhisena, Rabindranath Tagore, Swami Vivekananda, Justice Radha Binod Pal and Rash Behari Bose have contributed significantly to mutual understanding between the two countries.
Educational cooperation has expanded considerably through partnerships between universities, research institutions and governments.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), more than 100 joint research projects are currently underway between leading institutions in both countries. The LOTUS Programme, launched in 2024, facilitates exchanges of over 300 students and researchers annually, while Japan’s Sakura Science Programme also enables over 300 Indian students each year to visit Japanese institutions. Japanese universities continue to offer courses in Sanskrit, Pali, Buddhism and Indian philosophy, while Indian institutions promote Japanese language education.
Human resource mobility has emerged as a major pillar of cooperation. Under the India-Japan Memorandum of Cooperation on Skill Development (2016), Japanese companies have established Japan-India Institutes of Manufacturing (JIMs) and Japanese Endowed Courses (JECs) in Indian engineering institutions. Both countries also collaborate under Japan’s Technical Intern Training Programme (TITP) and Specified Skilled Worker (SSW) framework to facilitate employment opportunities for Indian skilled workers in Japan.
The MEA said that during the 15th India-Japan Annual Summit in 2025, both governments adopted an Action Plan for India-Japan Human Resource Exchange, targeting the two-way movement of 500,000 people, including 50,000 skilled and semi-skilled Indian workers to Japan over the next five years.
Cultural exchanges have also gained momentum through a Memorandum of Cooperation on Cultural Exchange (2025), promoting museum collaborations, exhibitions, heritage preservation and artistic exchanges. Tourism has received a boost through the India-Japan Year of Tourism Exchange, while parliamentary exchanges, state-level partnerships and academic collaborations continue to deepen societal links between the two democracies.
