The first-of-its-kind title that asks one woman to represent both India and Japan finds its new face
At the Rising India 2 India-Japan Business Conclave held today at the Akasaka Prince Classic House in Tokyo, Connect India Japan (CIJ) crowned Ms. Tanahara Kokoro as the new Ms. India Japan — a title unlike any other, created to find a woman who can stand at the intersection of two great nations and represent both with equal pride.
The crowning was performed by Mr. Toshihiro Suzuki, Representative Director and President of Suzuki Motor Corporation — one of the most powerful symbols of what India and Japan have built together — making this a moment of rare significance: a cultural title handed by a business titan, at a diplomatic conclave, before an audience of ministers, ambassadors, and industry leaders.
What is Ms. India Japan?
Ms. India Japan is the first pageant of its kind — one where a single woman is chosen not to represent one country, but two. She is India. She is Japan. She is the living bridge between them.
The title was created by Connect India Japan with a singular belief: that the India-Japan relationship, one of the most consequential bilateral partnerships in Asia, deserves a human face — a woman who can walk into a boardroom and a cultural gathering with equal grace, who can speak to business leaders in Tokyo and communities in India, and who can carry the story of both nations forward.
The Ms. India Japan titleholder serves as an active cultural ambassador for India-Japan people-to-people ties, cultural exchange, and bilateral commerce — attending key events, representing CIJ’s platforms, and serving as a visible face of the friendship between the two nations.
From the First Edition to Today
The first-ever Ms. India Japan was crowned at a dedicated pageant held in September 2025, when Ms. Chiharu Sakamoto was chosen from among twenty young women who competed to become the inaugural titleholder — the first time such a title had ever been created to represent both countries together.
Due to certain circumstances, Ms. Sakamoto was unable to fulfil the duties of the title. Following mutual agreement between Ms. Sakamoto and Connect India Japan, both parties decided to appoint a new Ms. India Japan. Rather than wait for a new pageant cycle, Connect India Japan returned to the twenty women who had already competed in September 2025 — young women who had already demonstrated their commitment to the India-Japan story — and chose a new titleholder from among them.
That choice was Ms. Tanahara Kokoro.
Ms. Tanahara Kokoro: The New Ms. India Japan
Crowned at Rising India 2 before a distinguished audience that included Japan’s Finance Minister, India’s Ambassador, and the President of Suzuki Motor Corporation, Ms. Tanahara Kokoro steps into a role that carries both cultural weight and real responsibility. As Ms. India Japan, she will represent the bilateral relationship at events, foster connections between Indian and Japanese communities, and serve as an ambassador for the values that Connect India Japan was built on: friendship, exchange, and the belief that India and Japan, together, are something extraordinary.
About Ms. India Japan
Ms. India Japan is an initiative of Connect India Japan, the first platform exclusively dedicated to strengthening India-Japan bilateral relations through events, content, and community. The title is awarded annually and is open to women who embody the spirit of both nations — the warmth, the ambition, the curiosity, and the commitment to building something that lasts across borders.
About Connect India Japan
Connect India Japan (CIJ) is a platform dedicated to strengthening bilateral relations between India and Japan through flagship events, content, and community-building across business, culture, and policy. Founded by Ms. Nupur Tewari, who has called Japan home for more than two decades, CIJ also publishes CIJ Today, a Japan-India focused news platform and magazine covering developments across the bilateral relationship. Rising India 2 is CIJ’s flagship India-Japan business conclave.
