Japanese delegation of 23 young & experienced entrepreneurs, VCs on a week-long visit to India
The delegation also has representation of Japan Omnichannel Association (JOA) that brings together corporations and individuals from diverse industries such as retail, IT, education, and finance to discuss CX, DX, SCM, EX and SDGs.
NEW DELHI: A delegation of 23 Japanese young, experienced entrepreneurs, venture capitalists (VCs) are on a week-long visit to India to explore business opportunities in the field of retail (chain and e-commerce), information technology with special focus on digital experience (DX), logistics, fin-tech, entertainment and restaurants. These entrepreneurs and representatives are closely monitoring and studying the Indian business scenario by visiting various business establishments as well as experiencing the actual living conditions by visiting markets, commercial malls and also by travelling by local metro trains. Majority of the visiting Japanese are first timers to India and are also tasting Indian food as well.
Led by the top management including presidents & CEOs, the delegation started its journey in India on 23rd October (Wednesday) from Bangalore where. The delegation reached New Delhi on 26th October (Saturday) for three days and interact with senior company representatives.
These visiting companies include Digital Shift Wave Inc., Communication and Technology Laboratory Inc, ECBEING CORP., ict Utilization Institute of Stores, YOSHINOYA CO., LTD., Canly Inc., IS Lab, FUJI SOFT INCORPORATED, SMILEX LLC, PETS LLC, Xbit, Inc., Corporate Directions, Inc., Corporate Directions, Inc., SCOPE INC., e-Agency Co., Ltd., ECBEING CORP., LINGs Inc., BCM Holdings, Tascal, Kiva Co., Ltd., Creators Match Ltd., Thinqlo Inc., and Comexposium Japan.
According to Indobox’s Founder & CEO, Daisuke Tanji who recently launched Japan Karo – a supportive Business Matching Platform that connects Indian and Japanese companies, the visiting Japanese delegation was keen on exploring business opportunities with India and is on a week-long tour to monitor, study and understand strengths and weaknesses of Japanese and Indian sides, identify the gaps and then work out mechanism to address this gap to create synergies.
“India is strong in certain sectors such as digital transformation (DX) in the IT industry, and mas-scale digital transactions and usage of mobile applications are excellent example of this. Japan is weak in this sector, and has a lot to learn from India. In certain fields, Japan has an edge. The delegation members,” he added.
The delegation first went to Bangalore, and visited TATA’s Titan Watches Store, TATA’s Tanishque jewellery store, and Blue Stone Store besides visiting the office of NASSCOM, India’s apex trade association of Indian IT & BPM industry. The visiting Japanese also visited Vega City Mall and Lulu, Mall, Reliance Smart Point, Reliance Trends Store at Forum Mall, Simpli Namdhari’s, DMart Garuda Mall, Reliance Digital Store, Farmtheory, etc. Here Ms. Shiho Sakaguchi, Founder, Hoshitry Impact LLP coordinated the visit of the delegation. She is based in Bangalore.
Their exciting tour of New Delhi which was being coordinated by Daisuke Tanji, took off on Saturday (26th Oct) when they enjoyed a vast variety of Indian food at Dana Choga, and visited Nexus Select City Walk Mall, Pacific Mall Jasola, traditional Chandni Chowk market in the walled city of Delhi, and culminated the day with Japanese food at Sakura restaurant at Metropolitan Mall.
On Sunday, the delegation members would visit a successful Indian start-up farmoco – a medicine delivery company, followed by their visit to Gurugram’s DLF Cyber Hub and later South Point Mall on Golf Course road as well as Gurugram’s biggest mall Ambience Mall. On Monday the delegation would also visit IIT Delhi.
One of the key members of the Japanese delegation is Kojiro Henmi who is representing Communication and Technology Laboratory Inc. He also represents Japan Omnichannel Association (JOA) in a key role of a Director.
Kojiro Henmi is a prominent figure in Japanese e-commerce and omni-channel retail. A Gakushuin University graduate, Henmi has held pivotal roles in top companies like Softbank, Amazon Japan, Aeon Co., and Kitamura Co. where he launched Japan’s biggest mall chain Aeon’s online supermarket and advanced Kitamura’s omni-channel strategy, achieving sales figure of 41.9 billion Yen by utilizing a network of approximately 1,300 stores with online services. Currently, as an independent consultant, he continues to drive omni-channel innovation in retail distribution.
According to Kojiro Henmi there was a rising interest among the Japanese entrepreneurs and companies to do explore business opportunities with India in the field of retail (chain and e-commerce), information technology with special focus on digital transformation (DX), logistics, fin-tech, entertainment and restaurants.
“The Japan Omnichannel Association (JOA) was very keenly conducting research in New York and San Francisco in the USA in the year 2021-22. It focused on Thailand and Singapore in the year 2203, and the focus country was India during the current year,” he added.
The Japan Omnichannel Association (JOA) was established in 2020 with the goal of fostering the development of omnichannel business practices and nurturing talent in Japan’s digital transformation (DX) efforts. JOA brings together corporations and individuals from diverse industries such as retail, IT, education, and finance to discuss customer experience (CX), supply chain management (SCM), employee experience (EX), and sustainable development goals (SDGs). The association’s key mission is to evolve the omnichannel definition and create opportunities for co-creation across industries.
Many of the Japanese delegation members looked quite upbeat on their visit to India. Yuki Mingawa, President and CEO, Taskal Co. Limited – a consulting/marketing travel agency & restaurant opening support company, said that he was interested in setting up restaurants business in India. The company runs a popular BAR Feliz in Fukuoka prefecture of Japan.
Other delegation members include Suzuki Yasuhiro from Digital Shift Wave Inc., Hayashi Masaya from ECBEING CORP., Gunzi Noboru from ict Utilization Institute of Stores, Tanaka Yasuto from YOSHINOYA CO.,LTD., Tatsumi Mamoru from Canly inc., Watanabe Hiroki from IS Lab,
Shibata Akihiro from FUJI SOFT INCORPORATED, Onishi Satoru from SMILEX LLC, Kawakami Youhei from PETS LLC, Kokubo Kosaku from Xbit,Inc., Shin Tatsunori from Corporate Directions, Inc., Abe Hiroyuki from Corporate Directions, Inc., Aoyama Tomoaki from SCOPE INC., Nasu syuniti from e-Agency Co.,Ltd, Inoue Hideki from ECBEING CORP., Kawanago Terutaka from LINGs inc., Shiraishi Takahiro from BCM Holdings, Noziri Kouta from kiva Co.,Ltd, Go keijyu Creators Match Ltd., Nishii Toshiyasu from Thinqlo Inc., and Fukuda Syuuhei from Comexposium Japan Alliance.
A related article: ‘Japan Karo’ Launched in Nagoya to Foster Japan-India Business Partnerships
