Inside India’s cross-industry delegation to Japan with Minister Piyush Goyal

Senior Indian industry leaders flew to Tokyo last week, manufacturers, and executives from chemicals, textiles, semiconductors, IT, steel, energy, tourism and education, one of the widest cross-sections of Indian industry to travel together on a single delegation. I was proud to be one of them, representing HabileLabs across four packed days in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka.

The visit sits inside something bigger than any single meeting: what’s being called the India-Japan Next Generation Economic Partnership. During PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Japan in 2025, the two countries set a target of JPY 10 trillion in Japanese private investment into India over the next decade, and every conversation this week, in boardrooms and over roundtables, was in service of that number.

A productive first day in Tokyo, including the India-Japan Industry Roundtable with Keidanren, the Japan Business Federation representing 1,500+ Japanese enterprises, and the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), addressed by Hon’ble Minister Shri Piyush Goyal. Alongside it, a wider Tokyo capital conversation with institutions like MUFG, Mizuho, Nomura, Nippon Life and the Development Bank of Japan, and meetings with the Fintech Association of Japan, JIDP, SMBC and JUSE, wide-ranging conversations on technology, AI, fintech, manufacturing and India-Japan collaboration.

Day 2 carried the same intensity, driving strategic collaborations, industrial investments and bilateral partnerships across key sectors. A heartfelt note of gratitude to Mr. Nirmal K Minda, Chairman of Uno Minda Limited, for expertly leading our delegation and providing inspiring vision and guidance throughout these high-level engagements.

At the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), a productive discussion with Mr. Toshihiko Kurihara, Director General of the Social Infrastructure Finance Department, on infrastructure financing and sustainable development projects. At Marubeni Corporation, an engaging session with Mr. Takashi Imamura, Executive Officer & President of the Marubeni Institute, on synergies in trade, global supply chains and industrial innovation. And at the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), a constructive dialogue with Ms. Akiko Okumura, Executive Vice President, on expanding market access, boosting bilateral trade flows and accelerating cross-border investments.

A ministerial debrief with Minister Goyal aligned the delegation’s priorities with India’s global economic roadmap, followed by a high-level roundtable on semiconductors, AI and electronics at The Okura Tokyo, in the Minister’s presence. India’s semiconductor demand is projected to reach USD 150 billion by 2032, and the roundtable dug into the six pillars of that strategy, chip design, machinery and materials, fabrication, ATMP/OSAT, R&D and talent, with a large share of the world’s chip design engineers already Indian, paired against Japan’s strength in precision engineering and equipment.

The itinerary also carried the delegation to Nagoya, for a roadshow organised with Chukeiren that brought in 80+ companies from the Chubu region, automobiles, aerospace, machine tools, semiconductors, electronics and auto components, exactly the layer of mid-sized supplier firms India’s own Tier-II and Tier-III ecosystem is racing to build. In Osaka and Kansai, the group got onto the factory floor: Hitachi Origin Park, the OMRON Communication Plaza, Daikin’s Technology and Innovation Centre, Panasonic, Horiba, Anatec Yanaco and CYBERDYNE’s work in robotics and cybernetics, alongside JAXA on space technologies, AOTS on technical training, the FinTech Association of Japan, Keizai Doyukai and the Kobe Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

By the end of it, the delegation had logged more than 250 B2B meetings between Indian and Japanese companies across manufacturing, engineering, capital goods, automobiles, semiconductors, IT, energy, chemicals, textiles, tourism, education and steel, the real measure of how wide this delegation’s industry mix ran. At a startup summit hosted with Minister Goyal and the Consulate General of India, the Minister pointed to India’s emergence as the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem, with nearly 250,000 startups founded over the last decade, and set out a framework for the next phase of India-Japan startup cooperation: a Deep-Tech Capital Corridor, a Two-Way Innovation Bridge linking universities and incubators, closer manufacturing and technology integration, and joint startup pitching platforms connecting founders on both sides with investors.