Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe look on as Indian Ambassador to Japan Deepa Gopalan Wadhwa and Mayor of Kyoto Kadokawa Daisaku pose with documents following a signing ceremony to establish sister city ties between Kyoto and Varanasi, in Kyoto yesterday.
Agencies/Tokyo
Prime Minister Narendra Modi flew into Japan yesterday on a five-day official visit as the two governments seek to boost security ties and counter an increasingly assertive China.
Modi arrived at Kansai International Airport near Osaka, western Japan, by a special plane for a night in the nearby ancient city of Kyoto where he was to have an unofficial dinner with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a foreign ministry official said.
Abe, in a special gesture, flew down to Kyoto to receive Modi.
The Indian leader will visit historic sites and an academic institution in Kyoto today before moving to Tokyo for meetings tomorrow with Japanese government and business leaders, including a summit with Abe, the official said.
Abe and Modi are expected to affirm co-operation in ensuring a “peaceful and stable maritime order,” a Japanese official told Kyodo news agency.
Both nations hope to curb Beijing’s rising activity in the East and South China seas and the Indian Ocean.
In New Delhi, the Indian premier told Japanese media in an interview on Friday that the two nations could “upgrade” their relations in the fields of defence and security.
“I see in the recent changes in Japan’s defence export policies and regulations a possibility to engage in a new era of co-operation in high-end defence technology and equipment,” he said.
In the summit meeting, the two premiers are likely to agree on launching a “two-plus-two” security consultative framework involving their foreign and defence ministers, according to Kyodo.
Japan already has such arrangements with the US, Australia, Russia and France.
Abe and Modi are also expected to discuss a possible Indian purchase of Japanese-made US-2 amphibian planes.
During Modi’s trip, his first bilateral visit outside South Asia since taking office in May, the two countries will seek to conclude talks for a civil nuclear pact that would allow Tokyo to export nuclear-related technology to New Delhi, Kyodo said.
On the economic front, Abe is expected to pitch Japan’s high-speed bullet train technology, Kyodo said.
It added that Abe and Modi were expected to agree to jointly produce rare earths that could be exported to Japan, a move that would further reduce Japan’s reliance on China for supply of such minerals.
Rare earths are vital to manufacture high-tech products such as hybrid cars and mobile phones.
Soon after his arrival, the two countries signed a partnership agreement to establish sister city ties between Varanasi and Kyoto.
Varanasi is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world while Kyoto was the capital of Japan for over 1,000 years.
The partnership focuses on how to preserve heritage while building smart cities. It was signed between Kyoto Mayor Daisaku Kadokawa and India’s Ambassador to Japan Deepa Gopalan Wadhwa.
