Piyush Goyal to lead largest business delegation to Japan from India; four-day visit to deepen trade

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will lead India’s largest-ever business delegation to Japan during a four-day visit beginning Monday, as New Delhi seeks to deepen trade, investment and technology ties with Tokyo. Goyal will visit Japan from August 24 to 27, travelling to Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka with a delegation of more than 200 business representatives. The group spans manufacturing, semiconductors, clean energy, steel, automobiles, financial services, healthcare and start-ups. The Commerce Ministry said the scale of the delegation reflected the ambition of the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership and was expected to create new opportunities for cooperation in high-technology manufacturing and next-generation industries.

Tokyo talks to focus on investment

In Tokyo, Goyal is scheduled to meet senior executives of major Japanese conglomerates and industrial houses that have longstanding business links with India.

He will also participate in a round-table with Keidanren, or the Japan Business Federation, which represents more than 1,500 leading Japanese companies. The discussions are expected to focus on attracting greater Japanese investment into India and identifying new areas where companies from the two countries can collaborate.

Dedicated sessions are planned on semiconductors and artificial intelligence, start-ups and foreign institutional investors, reflecting India's push to position itself as a major manufacturing, technology and investment destination.

The focus on semiconductors assumes particular significance as India works to build a domestic chip ecosystem and strengthen supply-chain resilience. Japanese companies possess considerable expertise across semiconductor materials, equipment and advanced manufacturing, making the sector an important area of bilateral economic cooperation.

Goyal to meet Japanese counterpart

Goyal will hold bilateral talks with Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Akazawa Ryosei. He is also scheduled to meet senior members of the Japanese government and Parliament during his stay in Tokyo.

The Commerce Minister will separately interact with members of the Indian community in Japan.

The visit comes as India seeks to attract larger volumes of Japanese capital into manufacturing and emerging industries while encouraging Indian businesses to build deeper commercial partnerships in Japan.

The government believes stronger cooperation in areas such as advanced manufacturing, clean energy, artificial intelligence and semiconductors can add a new dimension to a relationship that already extends across infrastructure, technology and strategic cooperation.

Manufacturing push in Nagoya

The delegation will then travel to Nagoya, the industrial centre of Japan's Aichi Prefecture and a major hub for the country's automotive and manufacturing industries.

Goyal will lead a roadshow in partnership with Chukeiren, the Central Japan Economic Federation, and the Nagoya Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He will also engage with the leadership of Aichi Prefecture and major investors from the automotive and steel industries.

The Nagoya leg is expected to provide Indian companies with an opportunity to engage directly with Japanese manufacturers and explore investment, technology transfer and supply-chain partnerships.

India has been pitching its expanding domestic market, infrastructure investment, production capabilities and policy reforms to international manufacturers as it seeks to become a larger part of global supply chains.

Osaka to showcase opportunities

In Osaka, the delegation's programme will include business engagements and roadshows highlighting opportunities in India, particularly in manufacturing and clean energy.

The government expects the visit to provide fresh momentum to bilateral economic relations by connecting Indian businesses directly with Japanese companies, investors and industry organisations.

The unprecedented presence of more than 200 Indian business representatives is also intended to broaden the commercial relationship beyond established sectors and create partnerships in emerging technologies.

The Commerce Ministry said the visit could open new avenues of cooperation in high-technology manufacturing and next-generation industries, areas it considers important to India's Atmanirbhar Bharat programme and its ambition of becoming a developed economy by 2047.

For Goyal, the Japan trip follows a three-day visit to Singapore, where he led a 70-member Indian business delegation and held discussions aimed at expanding investment, market access, technology partnerships and talent development.