Japanese industry leaders have identified information technology, artificial intelligence (AI), and agriculture as pivotal sectors for collaboration, underscoring the deepening economic ties between Japan and India during Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's inaugural visit to India.
Speaking at the India-Japan Joint Economic Forum in New Delhi, representatives from both nations emphasized their complementary strengths and expressed optimism about expanding cooperation in high-tech and rural economy sectors.
Technology Synergy: Engineering Meets IT
Haruyuki Hiratani, CEO and CCO of Future Creation Company, highlighted the potential of combining Japan's mechanical engineering prowess with India's IT capabilities to drive innovation in emerging technologies. "Japan is good at mechanical engineering. India is good at IT. By collaborating, we can manufacture IoT, the Internet of Things. This is a good partnership for Japan and India," Hiratani said.
Kazuhiro Nakashoji, Founder and CEO of Yaqumo Inc., praised India's ecosystem for deep-tech startups. "We believe India has huge potential, especially for a deep tech startup like us. India has amazing software engineers and scientists. PM Modi's activities are great," he noted.
Growing Investment and Business Expansion
Kosuke Kiryu, Managing Director of Tanita India Pvt. Ltd., observed that Japanese companies are increasingly expanding in India, reflecting stronger bilateral economic ties. "The relationship between Japan and India is nice. Most of the Japanese companies want to invest more in India. The relationship is getting better and better year by year," he said.
Motoyuki Arai, Founder and CEO of Synspective Inc., emphasized the value of combining Japanese hardware strengths with Indian AI and analytics. "We have different types of advanced technologies: hardware technologies, AI and analytics technology. Indian companies have very good ones. So we can combine that advantage and build up value for both countries," Arai stated.
Agriculture: A New Frontier
In the agriculture sector, Hidetake Akiba, Founder and CEO of Akiba Farm Holdings, revealed that his company has started operations in India, focusing on improving farmer incomes and milk production through innovative feed solutions. "We have managed the farm in Japan for 140 years. We just started the farm business in India. Our focus is on supporting the local farmers to improve their income and also the production of milk using our original feed. We are trying to expand this business in India. We just started in Karnataka and Bengaluru. We are looking for the north, south and west areas," he said.
129 MoUs Signed at Forum
Earlier, Japan announced 129 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with India at the Japan-India Joint Economic Forum, covering advanced technologies, clean energy, and semiconductors. Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) Chairman and CEO Ishiguro Norihiko stated, "Today, we are pleased to announce 129 MoUs between Japan and India."
The announcements came during Takaichi's three-day official visit to India from July 1 to July 3, at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She also participated in the 16th India-Japan Annual Summit, where both leaders reviewed bilateral cooperation and discussed regional and global issues.
