Lucknow, Feb. 26 -- Invoking Lord Buddha while highlighting the cultural and spiritual links between Uttar Pradesh and Japan, chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday invited Japan's transnational companies to invest in the state. Stating that he salutes this sacred Land of the Rising Sun (Japan), Adityanath described Uttar Pradesh as not only the holy birthplace of Lord Shri Ram of the Suryavansh but also the sacred karmabhoomi of Lord Buddha. "Some of the most significant global sites associated with Lord Buddha, including Sarnath, Shravasti, Kushinagar and Kaushambi, are in Uttar Pradesh," he said in Tokyo where the Invest UP roadshow was conducted. The Ramayana Circuit and Buddhist Circuit are being effectively developed in Uttar Pradesh, giving new momentum to spiritual tourism, he said. "When we speak of Bhagwan Shri Ram and Bhagwan Buddha, it connects to the great Suryavansh tradition whose first ray rises on the land of Japan. With this sense of cultural affinity, I welcome you all and urge you to invest in Uttar Pradesh," the chief minister said. "Uttar Pradesh, with a population of 25 crore, is the country's largest consumer market. The larger the population, the greater the challenges and the greater the opportunities. Over the past nine years, the state's economy and per capita income have nearly tripled," he said. He also informed the gathering how Uttar Pradesh has covered a long transformational journey from a BIMARU state to India's growth engine. Despite having only 11% of the country's agricultural land, UP produces nearly 21% of the nation's foodgrains, he said. This creates significant investment opportunities in food processing, packaging and agri logistics, he added. "In recent years, infrastructure has developed rapidly in the state. Uttar Pradesh has an extensive expressway network, the country's largest rail network and is the junction of the Eastern and Western Dedicated Freight Corridors," he said. He informed Japanese entrepreneurs about the proposed Japan Industrial City in the YEIDA region. He said that 16 airports are functional in the state, including four international airports, and Noida International Airport will soon commence operations. "Near the Noida International Airport, a Japan Industrial City is being developed exclusively for Japanese investors. For this project, 500 acres of land has been identified. The objective is to enable Japanese industries to invest as a cluster at one location. They will be provided with superior connectivity, logistics and export facilities," the chief minister said. "Investment in Uttar Pradesh is secure because scale, skill, stability and speed are all available here. Around 55% of India's mobile manufacturing and nearly 60% of electronic component production takes place in Uttar Pradesh," he said. There are strong investment opportunities in data centres, semiconductors, logistics, warehousing and renewable energy. Recently, the foundation stone of a semiconductor unit was laid in the Noida region, the chief minister said. He also said the state has a land bank of 75,000 acres. A new industrial city is being developed over 56,000 acres in the Bundelkhand region near Jhansi, which will accelerate regional industrial development. He said that Uttar Pradesh has 96 lakh MSME units, providing employment to more than three crore people. New units are exempted from several types of NOCs for 1000 days to facilitate ease of establishment. Single window systems such as Nivesh Mitra and Nivesh Sarathi have simplified the investment process. Due to improved law and order and transparent policies, Uttar Pradesh is among the leading states in ease of doing business, he said. UP finance minister Suresh Khanna, industrial development minister Nand Gopal Gupta 'Nandi', India's ambassador to Japan Sibi George, and a large number of representatives from Japan's industrial community were prominent among those present on the occasion....