Lucknow, August 17: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's campaign to transform Uttar Pradesh into the country's leading industrial and global investment hub is set to gain fresh momentum through economic partnership with Japan. More than 200 leading Japanese industrialists, Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), business representatives and policymakers will participate in the 'UP-Japan Investment Meet 2026' to be held in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi from August 18 to 23.
Through the five-day investment conference, the Yogi Government aims to convert the business interest of Japanese companies into concrete investments, technology transfer, joint projects and large-scale employment generation.
The high-level Japanese delegation will be led by Kotaro Nagasaki, Governor of Yamanashi Prefecture. Along with Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Uttar Pradesh, the delegation will explore opportunities in sectors such as manufacturing, clean and green energy, semiconductors, digital infrastructure, skill development and tourism. This event is being considered significant in the context of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's resolve to make Uttar Pradesh a $1 trillion economy.
The Japanese delegation will be welcomed in New Delhi on August 18 by Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. This will mark the beginning of the five-day programme aimed at advancing investment and technological cooperation between Uttar Pradesh and Japan.
Organised by Invest UP, the programme will provide representatives of Japanese companies an opportunity to directly interact with senior officials of the Central and State Governments, Indian industry and educational institutions. Separate sessions will be held in Delhi, Lucknow, Agra, Greater Noida and Varanasi. Through these sessions, efforts will be made to transform possibilities of investment, joint ventures and technological partnerships across various sectors into concrete projects. The Yogi Government is seeking to take Uttar Pradesh's economic partnership with Japan to new heights through this strategic engagement.
Along with investment, cutting-edge technology, joint ventures and employment will remain at the centre of this entire initiative. Its objective is to establish Uttar Pradesh as a leading and preferred investment destination for international investors.
Under the programme, a High-Level CEO Roundtable and inaugural session will be organised on August 19 at Taj Palace, New Delhi. Senior representatives, including Union Minister for Railways, Information and Broadcasting and Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw, and Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Rural Development Shivraj Singh Chouhan, will participate. The platform will witness deliberations between top representatives of the government and industry on new areas of investment, modern technology, industrial cooperation and future projects.
The main state-level investment conference of the UP-Japan Investment Meet will be held on August 21 at Indira Gandhi Pratishthan in Lucknow. Government-to-Business (G2B) and Business-to-Business (B2B) matchmaking sessions will be organised. A key feature of these sessions will be that Japanese investors will be able to directly interact with representatives of the State Government and Indian business groups. Potential projects, partnerships, investments and implementation possibilities will be discussed in detail.
Senior representatives of several major names associated with Japanese industry will participate in the conference. These include JETRO, Escorts Kubota, Kubota Corporation Japan, Toshiba India, Motherson Group, Setolas Asia, Honda Trading Corporation India, Daikin Airconditioning India, Sumitomo Corporation India, Spark Minda Toyo Denso and Panasonic. Representatives of these companies will discuss possibilities of expanding their activities in Uttar Pradesh along with investment and technological cooperation.
One of the major attractions of the programme will be the virtual ground-breaking ceremony of projects by Escorts Kubota and Minda Corporation. Through this, progress made towards bringing investment projects onto the ground will also be showcased. Through this event, the Yogi Government is preparing to convey the message that the state's investment campaign is not limited to investment proposals alone, but is equally focused on implementing investment projects on the ground.
The Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) region is moving towards becoming a major hub for Japanese manufacturing in Uttar Pradesh. An Escorts Kubota project worth ₹2,025 crore has been proposed in Sector-10 of YEIDA. Tractors, construction equipment and related products will be manufactured here. The project is expected to help meet export demand along with domestic market requirements. More than 3,800 employment opportunities are also expected to be created through the project.
Minda Corporation is also developing two important projects in YEIDA. These projects will be established in Sector-10 and Sector-24. A total investment of ₹1,166 crore has been proposed in both projects, and they are expected to generate around 6,440 jobs. The projects will manufacture ignition switch-cum-steering locks, mechatronic components, wiring harnesses and related connection systems. Together, the projects of Escorts Kubota and Minda Corporation will bring investments worth ₹3,191 crore and create more than 10,000 potential jobs, laying a strong foundation for the Japanese manufacturing ecosystem in Uttar Pradesh.
To further expand this industrial ecosystem, the Yogi Government has planned to develop a dedicated Japanese City on 500 acres of land in YEIDA. It will be developed as an integrated industrial base for Japanese companies along with their suppliers and ancillary industries. Through the Japanese City, preparations are underway to develop an entire supply chain around large industries. This is expected to promote technology transfer, supply-chain integration and ancillary industries while generating additional employment opportunities.
The UP-Japan Investment Meet will give special priority to sectors linked with the future economy. Under green energy, investment opportunities in renewable energy, clean technology and green hydrogen will be presented to Japanese companies. In the manufacturing and automotive sectors, auto components, electronics and semiconductors will be key focus areas. Discussions will also be held on possibilities of Japanese investment in digital infrastructure sectors such as Global Capability Centers (GCCs) and data centres.
The Yogi Government is also emphasising the development of skilled human resources in accordance with industry requirements alongside investment. For this reason, skills and workforce development have been made key themes of the UP-Japan Investment Meet. Special discussions will be held on industry-academia collaboration along with technical training. Through this, possibilities will be explored to align the skills of youth emerging from educational institutions with industry requirements. In this sequence, an academic-industry dialogue will be organised at Galgotias University, Greater Noida. Discussions will focus on technical skills and the development of talent aligned with industry needs.
Along with industrial investment, tourism and culture are also among the major themes of this conference. Opportunities available in hospitality and civic infrastructure will be presented before Japanese investors. In particular, keeping in view Japan's Buddhist cultural connection, possibilities related to tourism and infrastructure development in the Buddhist Circuit associated with Varanasi, Sarnath and Kushinagar will be showcased. Opportunities related to tourism and smart civic infrastructure in Agra will also be presented before the Japanese delegation. Thus, the conference has been linked not only with industrial units but also with tourism, culture and urban infrastructure.
Senior public representatives and officials of the State Government will also participate in the UP-Japan Investment Meet. These include Finance and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Khanna, Industrial Development Minister Nand Gopal Gupta Nandi, Minister of State for Industrial Development and Parliamentary Affairs Jaswant Singh Saini, and IIDC Deepak Kumar, along with senior officials from the Finance, Industry, IT and Electronics Departments. In their presence, discussions will be held with Japanese investors regarding investment policy, industrial projects, infrastructure facilities and opportunities available across various sectors.
At the centre of the UP-Japan Investment Meet 2026 is Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's vision of establishing Uttar Pradesh as a competitive and preferred destination for global investment. Manufacturing, skilled human resources, modern infrastructure and advanced technology will be the four key pillars of the proposed economic partnership with Japan.
Through the five-day event, the Yogi Government is preparing not only to showcase investment opportunities to Japanese companies but also to connect them directly with Indian companies, educational institutions and the government machinery. Programmes to be held from Delhi to Lucknow, Greater Noida, Agra and Varanasi will link this partnership with different sectors.
From the ₹3,191 crore projects of Escorts Kubota and Minda Corporation and more than 10,000 potential jobs to the proposed 500-acre Japanese City, the focus of the conference will remain on converting investment proposals into actual industrial activity and employment. Through this, preparations are underway to give a new height to the economic partnership between Japan and Uttar Pradesh while accelerating long-term economic growth, cutting-edge technology, new industrial opportunities and large-scale employment generation in the state. This event could prove to be an important step towards foreign investment and global industrial partnerships in line with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's resolve to make Uttar Pradesh a $1 trillion economy.
