New Delhi will host the third edition of the India Today Indo-Japan Conclave on May 22, bringing together policymakers, diplomats, industry leaders and strategic thinkers from both countries at a moment when India and Japan are deepening ties across manufacturing, technology, infrastructure, trade and culture.
Organised by the India Today Group and themed ‘The New Growth Corridor’, the day-long conclave is being held against the backdrop of shifting geopolitics, realigning supply chains and mounting economic uncertainty, positioning itself as a platform to script the next phase of engagement between these Asian democracies.
A high-profile line-up will headline the conclave: Delhi Lieutenant Governor Sardar Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and Japan’s Ambassador to India Ono Keiichi.
India Today Group Editorial Director (Publishing) Raj Chengappa will open the proceedings with the welcome address before Ambassador Ono Keiichi sets the tone with a special address, ‘India-Japan: Expanding the Growth Horizon’.
Lieutenant Governor Sandhu follows with a keynote on Delhi’s future, ‘From Metro to Metropolis: How Japan Can Help Redesign Delhi’s Urban Future’, pitching Japanese collaboration as a template for the national capital’s infrastructure and civic design.
Haryana Chief Minister Saini takes centre stage then, making a case for sub-national diplomacy in ‘Smart States: Haryana Model for Global Partnership’ while Minister Prasada turns to the economic engine room with ‘Trade & Commerce: CEPA—The New Focus Sectors of Growth’. Sujan R. Chinoy, Director General of the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA) and a former Indian Ambassador to Japan, will offer a strategist’s read in the expert-speak session ‘Bilateral Boost: India-Japan in an Uncertain World Order’.
The conclave’s industrial spine is a session built squarely on its title, ‘Make in India Meets Monozukuri: The Winning Formula’, pairing India’s manufacturing scale with Japan’s celebrated precision-engineering ethos. Takeshi Seo, Chairman of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, India, will be among the voices. Nivruti Rai, Managing Director and CEO of Invest India, will map the digital frontier in ‘Building the Next Tech Corridor’ while Debashree Mukherjee, Secretary in the Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, will address the human capital equation in ‘India’s Talent, Japan’s Demand: The Strategic Match’.
Two panels promise the day’s hardest-edged debate. ‘Widening the Japan-India Investment Pipeline’ brings together former Indian Ambassador to Japan Deepa Wadhwa, the Japanese Embassy’s Fumio Yamazaki, Toru Endo of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation and Nippon Asset Management’s Sundeep Sikka. The follow-up session asks the sharper question, ‘Can India Be Japan’s Global Production Hub?’, with senior leadership from Hitachi, Daikin, Mitsui and Panasonic India weighing in on whether the country can graduate from market to manufacturing base.
The afternoon widens the lens. Haryana’s Industries and Commerce Secretary Dr Amit Agrawal will speak on building inter-state and bilateral trust before Union Minister Rijiju turns east in ‘The Northeast Corridor: Looking and Acting East’, casting India’s Northeast as the strategic gateway linking South Asia to Southeast Asia and the wider Indo-Pacific.
Then the conclave leans into softer power. A ‘Lifestyle’ conversation on winning the Indian consumer features Rediffusion’s Dr Sandeep Goyal and Yamaha Motor India Group’s Hajime Aota. The Japanese Embassy’s Noriaki Abe will explore ‘The New India-Japan Cultural Bridge’. The day’s most unexpected note comes last—’The Manga-Anime Rage’ with Comic Con India founder Jatin Varma and cosplay artist Baishakhi Das, a nod to the youthful, pop-cultural undercurrent now binding the two societies.
The 2026 edition of the Indo-Japan Conclave builds on a growing legacy. The inaugural conclave in 2022 marked 70 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries and was inaugurated by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. The 2023 edition, ‘India-Japan@2030’, was inaugurated by then Union Power Minister R.K. Singh. This year’s ambition is sharper, turning dialogue into action across governments, boardrooms and strategic circles.
As India and Japan settle into their roles as anchors of economic resilience and stability in the Indo-Pacific, the India Today Group’s conclave is set to underline just how central the partnership has become to Asia’s growth story.
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Source: India Today
