AFP/New DelhiJapan Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida met Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday at the start of a two-day trip aimed at boosting ties between Asia’s second and third largest economies.Kishida’s trip comes on the heels of the crushing win of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in national polls last month and a visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Japan in August-September.Abe, a right-wing nationalist likened to Modi for his zeal for economic reforms, has been keen to shore up ties with New Delhi to counter an increasingly assertive China.Modi too signalled the high priority he accorded to Japan by making the trip to Tokyo - his first bilateral visit outside South Asia since taking office last May.There was no immediate word on the outcome of the talks with Modi which lasted around half an hour. The two men were pictured smiling and shaking hands at the start of their meeting. A government spokesman said earlier that Kishida’s visit would boost an already growing friendly co-operation between the two nations.“We welcome this visit which signifies the importance that Japan places on relations with India,” foreign ministry Syed Akbaruddin told reporters.“You are aware of the path-breaking nature of (our) prime minister’s visit to Japan last year, and you are also aware of the outcomes of that visit.“This visit is intended to take forward those outcomes in terms of reaching their logical conclusion,” he said.Kishida will also chair the eighth strategic dialogue with his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj today and discuss ways to double Japanese investment in India.The Japanese government is encouraging businesses to tap fast-growing emerging markets such as India, as the domestic market shrinks due to a rapidly ageing population and low birth rate.