New Delhi, Oct. 28 (Jiji Press)–A business mission led by Ken Kobayashi, chairman of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has begun a week-long visit to India. This is the first time in eight years that the JCCI has sent a mission led by its chairman to India. At a press conference in New Delhi on Tuesday, Kobayashi expressed hope that the visit would help increase the number of Japanese small and midsize companies entering the Indian market and secure Indian talent for Japan. The 32-member delegation is visiting New Delhi and Mumbai from Sunday to Saturday. Members are scheduled to hold talks with representatives of local business organizations and a prestigious engineering university, while meetings with senior government officials are also being arranged. The delegation is intended to achieve a “breakthrough” in reversing the recent plateau in the number of Japanese companies expanding into India, Kobayashi said. The delegation members raised concerns about barriers facing small Japanese firms seeking to enter the Indian market, including complicated administrative procedures and difficulties acquiring land, at a meeting with an executive of a think tank affiliated with the Indian government, he said. “How to address Japan’s labor shortage is also an urgent issue,” he said, expressing expectations for Indian talent as a potential source of workers. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
