Nissho visits India for the first time in 8 years as SMEs expand into more businesses and hopes to acquire human resources

[New Delhi Jiji] An "economic mission" led by Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Ken Kobayashi has begun a tour of India. This is the first time in eight years that the head of the Nissho Chamber of Commerce has been dispatched. At a press conference in the capital New Delhi on the 27th, Mr. Kobayashi expressed his hope that his visit would lead to an increase in the number of small and medium-sized businesses expanding from Japan and to the acquisition of Indian human resources.

The 32-person delegation toured New Delhi and western Mumbai from the 25th to the 31st. They are planning to hold talks with local economic groups and officials from prestigious technical universities, and are also arranging meetings with government officials.

Mr. Kobayashi explained at the press conference that he came to make a ``breakthrough'' on the flattening of the number of Japanese companies operating in India in recent years. When he met with executives from a government-affiliated think tank, he said he specifically conveyed to them the complexity of administrative procedures and the issue of land acquisition, which is a barrier for small and medium-sized enterprises to expand their business.

``How to fill the shortage of human resources in Japan is an urgent issue,'' he said, expressing his hopes for Indian human resources who can become workers.