Minister Discusses Investment, Education, and Cultural Collaboration with Japan Envoy
CH NEWS
Large and Medium Industries Minister M.B. Patil met Japan’s Consul General Nakane Tsutomu on Friday to discuss the possibility of launching direct flight services from Bengaluru to Osaka and Nagoya, two of Japan’s major industrial hubs.
Currently, Bengaluru has direct connectivity only with Tokyo. Patil highlighted that with growing Japanese investments in Karnataka, there is an urgent need for flights linking Bengaluru with Osaka and Nagoya. “Many Japanese companies are creating jobs for our youth. Better air connectivity will significantly strengthen trade and industrial collaboration,” he said.
The minister further noted that cultural, academic, and skill-based exchanges would be a key agenda during his scheduled ten-day visit to Japan beginning September 6. Plans are underway to collaborate with Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) and Japanese institutions for language training and student exchange programmes. “During our Japan visit, we will hold talks with a leading university to push this initiative forward,” Patil added.
At the Global Investors Meet held in February, Japanese firms committed investments worth ₹7,500 crore in Karnataka across sectors such as data centres, manufacturing, and logistics. Japan is the fifth-largest contributor of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to India, with over 1,400 Japanese companies currently operating in the country, nearly half of them in the manufacturing sector.
To further ease bilateral trade and investment processes, the first office of the Bengaluru Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BICI) has recently been established in Tokyo. Industries Department Principal Secretary S. Selvakumar and Commissioner Gunjan Krishna were also present during the discussions.
