Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who says relations with India may become more important than Japan's links with the U.S. or China, will lead his biggest corporate mission to the South Asian country Tuesday.
Abe travels to New Delhi with 243 executives from companies including Toyota Motor Corp. and Canon Inc., more than the 175 he brought with him to the Middle East earlier this year. Japan has 4,757 companies in China and only 216 in India, according to Nomura Securities Co. Ltd.
Japan has been investing in China and other parts of Asia since the late 19th century and now wants to tap growth in the world's second-fastest-growing major economy. Abe says India, as an Asian democracy, is a natural ally. Strengthening links may help both nations counter China's growing global influence.