India and Japan share a deep bond that goes back to ancient times when the Indian monk Bodhisena visited Japan in 752 AD and introduced Buddhism. Since then, many Indians have contributed to the cultural and civilizational ties between the two countries, such as Swami Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagore, JRD Tata, Subhash Chandra Bose, and Radha Binod Pal. After the Second World War, India did not join the San Francisco Conference, which ended the war with Japan. Instead,

India chose to sign a separate peace treaty with Japan in 1952, when Japan regained its full sovereignty. This milestone in the bilateral relations set the stage for the future.

Today, the bilateral ties between India and Japan are stronger than ever before. India is receiving a lot of investments from Japan, which has become one of the biggest investors in the country. The Department of Commerce reports that Japan invested $ 17.15 billion in India from April 2022 to January 2023. The trade between Japan and India in the fiscal year 2022-23 was $21.96 billion. Japan sold $16.49 billion worth of goods to India and bought $5.46 billion worth of goods from India. Japan's sales to India were 2.31 percent of India's total imports, and India's sales to Japan were 1.21 percent of India's total exports. These numbers show a lot of room for improvement in the trade relations between the two countries. This special issue of CEO Insights is all about Indian business leaders in Japan who leverage this opportunity and continue to make inroads. Do let us know your thoughts.