Japanese trade body woos businesses in India

The new-look Japanese economy will be rewarding for Indian business ventures, Japanese External Trade Organization (JETRO) officials said at a seminar on Doing Business in Japan, jointly organised by CII and JETRO on Thursday.

A trouble-free corporate tax system, a transparent, safe and secure business environment with highly skilled human resources makes Japan one of the prime investment destinations, said Naoyoshi Noguchi, Chief Director General, JETRO. 

“There is scope for Indian traders to explore Japan. Asia contributes only 16% of inward FDI in Japan,” said Noguchi.

Yasuhiko Tanaka, Consulate-General of Japan in Kolkata, stressed on the strong ties between India and Japan. He said the volume of FDI to Japan from India is quite low compared to Japanese investments here and requested the businesses present to use the huge scope of doing business in Japan. According JETRO, Japan eyes inward FDI worth 35 trillion yen by 2020.

Tanaka also spoke of the investment initiative agreement between Prime Ministers of the two nations and remarked that in the 100th year of Rabindranath Tagore’s visit to Japan, India-Japan business relations will see a new turn.

Aloke Mookherjea, Past Chairman, CII Eastern Region, welcomed the Japanese delegates and said: “India-Japan bilateral relations are based on long-term political, economic and strategic interests, aspirations and concerns. They are driven by a common commitment to democracy, open society, human rights, rule of law and free market economy.”

Japanese economist Hirofumi Suzuki said that since over 80 per cent of the growth in demand comes from Asia and since the spending by middle class populace in Asian countries will increase from 23 per cent now to 55 per cent in 2030, it makes sense to expand business in the Asia Pacific region.