Core Viewpoint - Japanese companies are increasingly optimistic about India's market potential, with 60% identifying it as a key development market, up from 40% in 2016, indicating a significant shift in focus towards India due to its expected market growth surpassing that of China [2][5]. Group 1: Business Expansion Plans - 59.1% of Japanese companies plan to strengthen their business in India, a rise of approximately 21 percentage points from the previous survey where 38% indicated interest in South Asia [4]. - The intention to enhance business in Western Europe increased by 28.8 percentage points to 44.8%, while North America saw a 16.9 percentage point increase to 68.8% [4]. Group 2: Challenges Faced by Companies - The most significant challenge identified by 63.6% of companies is "securing talent," followed closely by concerns regarding the U.S. economy (60.4%) and the Chinese economy (59.7%) [5]. - When asked about marketing challenges, 45.5% of respondents highlighted the need to "establish marketing systems and develop customers," while 31.2% focused on "product and merchandise development" [6]. Group 3: Survey Details - The survey was conducted from May 25 to June 23, targeting Japanese companies with consolidated sales exceeding 50 billion yen, receiving responses from 154 executives, predominantly from manufacturing (76%) and service sectors (24%) [6].