The Japan Plus is a special management team and scheme established by the Government of India to promote and facilitate Japanese investments. It was operationalized on October 8, 2014, following the Indian Prime Minister's visit to Japan, to augment economic ties and address policy-related hurdles and slow processing faced by Japanese companies in India.
The team was set up by the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP), now the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), and comprises representatives from the Government of India and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Government of Japan. The team's mandate runs through the entire spectrum of investment promotion, including research, outreach, promotion, facilitation, and aftercare. It works by handholding Japanese investments across sectors, providing updated information on opportunities, and identifying prospective Japanese companies, including Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The team was initially coordinated by Mr. Kenichiro Toyofuku from METI and included four Indian and two Japanese officials.
Japan Plus is a key component of the broader India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership and is closely connected to the India-Japan Investment Promotion Partnership. It is also related to the Core Group chaired by the Cabinet Secretary on the same subject. The system was highlighted as recently as March 27, 2025, as a continuing effort to ensure a transparent and predictable environment for Japanese investors. There is no indication that the scheme has been replaced, but it continues to be the mechanism for resolving problems faced by Japanese companies.