Despite the noticeable increase in the political and economic roles of India in Asia Pacific over the past decade, the relationship between India and Japan has remained very limited, and efforts to jointly explore the countries’ new respective roles have been inadequate. In 1999, JCIE responded to this perceived gap by initiating a policy dialogue in cooperation with the Centre for Policy Research (CPR) in New Delhi. An initial small workshop was held in March 1999 to explore various issues between the two countries and to establish the agenda for a major conference.

Based on those discussions, the India-Japan Policy Dialogue was held on February 11–12, 2000, in New Delhi. Over 30 prominent researchers and leaders from various fields gathered to examine the future of India-Japan relations. Discussions focused on the domestic political and economic situations in each country; emerging global security scenarios; the future evolution of the Asia Pacific regional community; methods of enhancing the India-Japan relationship in the political and security arenas; and ways to bolster India-Japan cooperation in the economic, trade, and cultural fields.