Haryana CM turns to Japanese language to win Japanese investors’ heart
NEW DELHI: The Haryana chief minister and his team of bureaucrats did everything – from greeting the Japanese companies’ top-notch executives in Japanese language, asking them to treat the state as their second home, to rolling out red carpet for them during the India Japan Golf Meet on Saturday to woo Japanese investment into their state.
However, it is yet to be seen how successful the Haryana government would be in attracting more investment from Japanese investors who have been looking for alternate avenues in other states like Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka in last few years.
The India Japan Golf Meet hosted by the Haryana government and Invest India in Gurugram witnessed about 50 top business leaders from well-known Japanese companies like Maruti Suzuki, ANA, Mitsui, Casa Blanka, KDDI, Nippon, DCC, Kuraray India and others playing golf with the senior bureaucrats of Haryana government.
As many as 32 senior executives from Japanese member companies of Chamber of Commerce and Industry in India (JCCII) led by its secretary-general Kenji Sugino participated in the event.
Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar started reading out his pre-written speech by greeting the Japanese business community in Japanese language and said こんにちは (Konichiwa) which means hello in the Japanese language. He went on to use the Japanese language in the middle of his address and said that India and Japan should have the heart to heart contact, and the Japanese should treat Haryana as their ‘home away from home’. East or West, Home is the Best, he added.
He also ended his speech by saying ありがとうございました (Arigatōgozaimashita) which means thank you, and またお会いしましょう (Mata o ai shimashou) which means see you again soon.
He also mentioned the phrase “Red Carpet replaces Red Tapism in Haryana”, which he had used earlier too in July last year during the India Korea Golf Meet held in Gurugram.
Devender Singh, the Additional Chief Secretary, Industries Department, quoted Osamu Suzuki, the chairman of Suzuki Motor Corporation as saying that he (Osamu Suzuki) once mentioned that despite being in Haryana for about 40 years, he could not learn the local language but Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar spoke Japanese language during his visit to Japan sometime back.
While inviting the Japanese to invest more in Haryana, the CM said the state was bustling with opportunities in sectors ITeS, Agro and food processing, healthcare, skill development, medical education, electronics hardware, aerospace, rapid mass transport, etc.
Out of a total of 1441 Japanese companies registered in India, Haryana has 609. On the contrary, Maharashtra has emerged as the most favored destination in India with the highest 810 Japanese companies, Tamil Nadu 620, Karnataka 567, Gujarat 383, New Delhi 340, West Bengal 209, and Rajasthan 183.
Haryana Chief Minister said that India and Japan complement each other socially and economically. He said that Haryana is the first choice of foreign investors in the country as the state provides a congenial environment to the multinational companies. Thus, Japan will always have a prominent role in the social and economic development of the state.
Also read: Indian states jostle hard to attract Japanese, Korean, Chinese investment
The Chief Minister honored the winners of the event and also released the investment handbook titled “Fifth Wave of India-Japan Relationship” issued by Invest India and Standard Chartered.
Chief Minister encouraged the participants by presenting them with a citation and a memento during the golf networking event. He honored the event winners Ryo Miyano, KK Sindhu, and Koji Murata by giving them the Spot Prize and Over All Prize for Azad Sandhu, former DGP RS Dalal and Kulwinder Singh.
The JCCII secretary-general Kenji Sugino honored the chief minister with the JCCII silver metal souvenir. In his address, he said that out of a total of 450 Japanese member companies of JCCII, as many as 400 had their offices in Haryana and the state government here has always played a supportive role.
Other senior Japanese executives who participated in the golf meet included Kenichiro Toyofuku, Director (Corporate Planning), Maruti Suzuki India; Tsuneya Katagiri, Country Manager, All Nippon Airways (ANA); H. Jay Araki, MD, Casa Blanka Consulting; Shinsei Iwashiro, MD, KDDI India; and Akihiro Sasajima, Manager Kuraray India to name a few.
Director of Industries Department, Dr. Saket Kumar said that the Department is providing services to investors as an active partner. He said that these events are inspirational for building friendly relations and for moving forward in the industrial sector.
Invest India consultant, Pawan Kumar Chaudhary welcomed everyone while informing them about the objectives of the event.
