Piyush Goyal Leads Record Business Delegation to Japan
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal led a 200-member delegation to Japan to secure 10 trillion yen in investment and modernize the bilateral trade agreement.
Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal led India's largest-ever business delegation to Japan from August 24 to 27, 2026. The 200-member mission visited Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka to strengthen the Special Strategic and Global Partnership, focusing on semiconductors, artificial intelligence, clean energy, and healthcare. During the visit, Goyal urged Japanese firms to double their operational presence in India to 3,000 companies by 2030 and promoted India as a secure hub for data and intellectual property.
In Tokyo, Goyal met with Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Akazawa Ryosei to discuss a "full stack approach" to AI and the modernization of the 15-year-old Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). To attract high-tech manufacturing, Goyal announced that India would amend regulations within two months to ease Bureau of Indian Standards certification for semiconductor and AI firms. He also proposed a "Japan-India deeptech capital corridor" and a $1 billion Fund of Funds for deep-tech enterprises.
While promoting India as a "trusted partner" rather than a "plus-one" alternative to China, Goyal defended India's safeguard duties on low-grade steel. He noted that Japan's 10 trillion yen investment target for 2025-2035 has "kickstarted extremely well," with $10 billion realized in the first ten months. The delegation's activities included a startup roundtable and roadshows in Nagoya and Osaka to align priorities with Japanese conglomerates and financial institutions.
