Number of Japanese companies in south India is increasing, says Consul General of Japan in Chennai

IJCCI welcomes new Consul General of Japan in Chennai, highlighting growing economic relations and cultural ties between countries.

The Indo-Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IJCCI) on Monday hosted a reception for Takahashi Muneo, the newly appointed Consul General of Japan in Chennai and his spouse Ms. Takahashi.

“I have worked in eight countries in regions including Southeast Asia and the Middle East. But this will be my first assignment in India. I am very much looking forward to working in Chennai as the relationship between Japan and India continues to develop,” Mr. Muneo said.

“This is an important year for the Japan-India Special Strategic Global Partnership. Building on the cooperation to date, we expect to see further development of bilateral economic relations in the economic field, with cooperation in new areas such as green transformation and the development of the business and investment environment,” he said. The number of Japanese companies operating in Chennai and other parts of southern India is gradually increasing, and we expect this trend to continue, Mr. Muneo added.

“The number of Japanese visas issued is expected to exceed 30,000 this year, compared to around 600 in 2021, and we can expect further expansion of economic and human exchange between Japan and south India,” he noted.

Welcoming Mr. Muneo, N. Kumar, vice-chairman of the Sanmar Group, and chairman, IJCCI, noted that the governments of Japan and India always had a great relationship, and it has grown even more in the recent years.

In the last few years, India, south India in particular, have been fortunate to receive increased Japanese investments and also a number of companies from Japan have come to the country. In this era of growth, IJCCI would like to play a role in building people to people and business to business relationships between both countries, he added.

N. Ravi, Director, Kasturi and Sons Limited, said: “He comes with a stellar record in the Japanese foreign service. The cultural ties between India and Japan date back to the 8th Century. The second phase of Indo-Japan relations was marked by Japanese direct investments in India and Japanese aid. This has further blossomed with the presence of around 1,500 Japanese companies and nearly 5,000 business establishments operating in India. The two-way trade between both countries is over $50 billion,” and added that Chennai had a sizable number of Japanese firms and a large Japanese community.