India-Japan economic and trade relations

India and Japan are working to strengthen economic ties and increase bilateral trade. Indian Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal met with Japanese financial and investment institutions in Tokyo to discuss India’s goal of becoming a $30 trillion economy by 2047. Discussions focused on deepening investment in sectors such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, renewable energy, and digital infrastructure, with a mutual goal to increase Japanese private investment in India to 10 trillion yen over the next decade.

Parallel to these investment efforts, reports indicate that bilateral trade between the two nations could reach USD 50 billion by 2030, up from a projected USD 27.47 billion in 2025-26. While merchandise trade has grown nearly 79 percent over the last five years, the current trade balance favors Japan. To meet future targets, experts suggest India must diversify exports into higher-value sectors like pharmaceuticals and electronics, and upgrade the India-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement to address non-tariff barriers.

During a subsequent high-profile visit to Japan, Minister Goyal called for doubling the number of Japanese companies operating in India to approximately 3,000, focusing on integration into global supply chains through high-technology industries like steel and semiconductors. To bolster the innovation ecosystem, Goyal proposed a ‘Japan-India Deeptech Capital Corridor’ to provide early-stage funding for startups, alongside a pitching series modeled after ‘Shark Tank’ to connect Indian entrepreneurs with Japanese investors. Progress toward a previous USD 67 billion investment target is reportedly ahead of schedule, with over USD 10 billion already committed.