Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has invited Japanese companies to make the state their “second industrial home”, pitching Uttar Pradesh as a destination for long-term investment, advanced manufacturing, technology and innovation. The appeal came at the Uttar Pradesh–Japan Investment Meet 2026, held in New Delhi on August 19, as the state sought to deepen economic and industrial ties with Japan.
The investment meet brought together Uttar Pradesh government representatives and a large Japanese delegation led by Kotaro Nagasaki, Governor of Yamanashi Prefecture. More than 200 Japanese CEOs, business leaders, industry representatives and policymakers are participating in the broader UP-Japan engagement, aimed at exploring opportunities for investment, technology partnerships, manufacturing and employment generation.
Addressing Japanese industry representatives, Adityanath highlighted Uttar Pradesh’s growing infrastructure, manufacturing capacity, skilled workforce and expanding technology ecosystem. He said the state wanted Japanese companies to look beyond conventional investment and establish technology centres, research and development facilities, skill-development centres and global supply chains in Uttar Pradesh.
The Chief Minister described the emerging India-Japan economic relationship in terms of “Shared Growth, Shared Technology and Shared Prosperity.” His pitch focused on transforming the strategic relationship between India and Japan into practical industrial partnerships at the state level, with Uttar Pradesh positioning itself as a major destination for Japanese capital and technology.
Several sectors have been identified as potential areas for deeper collaboration. These include automobiles, advanced manufacturing, electronics, green hydrogen and clean energy, technology, skill development and tourism. Such partnerships could combine Japanese technological expertise with Uttar Pradesh’s large market, workforce and growing industrial infrastructure.
Governor Kotaro Nagasaki said the visit was expected to strengthen economic and institutional ties between Yamanashi and Uttar Pradesh. The interaction is significant because the relationship is being approached not merely as a series of individual investment proposals, but as a broader partnership involving business, technology, skills and people-to-people connections.
The UP-Japan Investment Meet is part of a wider programme organised by Invest UP from August 18 to 23, covering New Delhi, Lucknow, Agra, Greater Noida and Varanasi. The programme includes government-to-business and business-to-business interactions designed to connect Japanese companies directly with policymakers and potential Indian partners.
The Japanese delegation’s itinerary also reflects the cultural dimension of the visit. A delegation led by Nagasaki visited the Taj Mahal in Agra, as the programme seeks to strengthen not only industrial and economic cooperation but also cultural and institutional connections between Japan and Uttar Pradesh.
The New Delhi event saw participation from senior Indian leaders as well. Photographs from the meeting showed Adityanath and Nagasaki alongside Union Ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and Shivraj Singh Chouhan, among other dignitaries, highlighting the broader importance being attached to the investment initiative.
Uttar Pradesh’s outreach to Japan comes as the state increasingly seeks international partnerships to support its ambitions in manufacturing, infrastructure and technology. Rather than positioning itself simply as a location for factories, the state is attempting to attract investment across the entire industrial ecosystem, from research and innovation to skills, production and supply chains.
For Japanese companies, Uttar Pradesh offers the combination of a large domestic market, a young workforce and improving connectivity and infrastructure. For the state, Japanese investment could bring capital as well as advanced technology, manufacturing practices and technical expertise.
The message emerging from the UP-Japan Investment Meet 2026 is therefore about building a relationship that extends beyond individual projects. By asking Japanese businesses to make Uttar Pradesh their “second industrial home”, the state is seeking to turn India-Japan strategic ties into a deeper partnership built around investment, technology, manufacturing and shared economic growth.