Japanese media outlet ABEMA TIMES reported that during the delegation’s stay in India, the Japanese government issued strict hygiene instructions, specifically stating that tap water was not to be used under any circumstances, including for gargling, and that all drinking and oral hygiene needs were to be met using only bottled mineral water.

The report added that a large quantity of mineral water had been loaded aboard the government aircraft before departure as a behind-the-scenes detail.

Before the report became public, Takaichi and Modi had agreed to carry forward their relationship with the trust and warmth of a “brother-sister bond.”

India media outlet NDTV, citing sources, reported that during Thursday's discussion, Takaichi claimed that she had always considered former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe her "elder brother" since she was younger than him. She added that she now considers Modi an elder brother as well.

Responding warmly, Modi referred to Takaichi as his "younger sister," a gesture that underscored the personal rapport between the two leaders, NDTV reported.

The remark also echoed an earlier interaction between them. Referring to their previous meeting during the joint press conference, Takaichi said, "Just now you called me your beautiful little sister, but during our last meeting, we had agreed to carry forward our relationship as brother and sister," per NDTV report.

The report also said that “the exchange reflects the cordial relationship between India and Japan, which was evident through the summit focused on enhancing cooperation between the two nations.”

While addressing Modi as "elder brother," Japan reportedly instructed the delegation not to use local tap water. This contradictory behavior, in the eyes of Chinese experts, reflects the hypocrisy of the Japanese government and of Takaichi herself.

The seemingly trivial matter of only drinking bottled water brought by the delegation out of concerns over local hygiene starkly illustrates that, despite Takaichi’s public gestures to deepen Japan-India cooperation, she privately harbors condescending and discriminatory attitudes toward India, Qian Feng, director of the Research Department at Tsinghua University's National Strategy Institute, told the Global Times on Saturday.

Qian said this incident also reveals that, for Japanese politicians like Takaichi, India is merely an instrumental partner aligned with Japan’s China-focused strategy out of pragmatic interests, rather than a long-term, mutually interdependent ally.

India is merely considered as a tool by Japan in its strategy to counterbalance China, Qian said, adding that ostensibly cordial diplomatic exchanges between the two countries is ultimately motivated by realist calculations of national interest.

Some Japanese social media users also criticized Takaichi's mind-set. A user named "moonandcarrot" posted on X in Japanese, saying that Takaichi has always used flattery to navigate the political arena with ease. Another user @kamimura853 commented that he felt he "had already seen the inevitable consequences of this obsequious diplomacy." 

Additionally, some netizens have questioned Takaichi's capabilities. A netizen said that Takaichi is the only politician who creates an illusion of close diplomatic ties merely by addressing others by their first names. "She should handle diplomatic affairs with competence rather than with vulgar sentimentality," said another user ETSU. A netizen @ASKUSHWAHA10 also said, “In international diplomacy these things should be avoided. She is head of govt and he too. They must talk business with diplomacy niceties.”

Qian also pointed out that Takaichi’s duplicitous attitude would reinforce perceptions of her hypocrisy across Indian society and widen the existing perceptual rift between Japan and India. “While bilateral cooperation appears smooth on the surface at this stage, this incident will allow India to see Japan’s true mind-set and sow latent frictions between the two sides,” he added.