PM arrives in Japan on 3-day visit

Tokyo: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today arrived on a three-day visit to Japan during which he will attend the Annual Summit and hold consultations with his counterpart Shinzo Abe. Mr Modi was warmly greeted by Japanese officials on his arrival here. Several agreements, including on civil nuclear cooperation, will be signed during his visit. Both the leaders are likely to discuss defence cooperation, featuring joint maritime exercises between Japan, India and the US.

 The South China Sea issue is expected to feature in the talks. Mr Modi earlier made a brief stopover in Bangkok, where he paid respects to revered Thai king Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died last month after a protracted illness, Mr Modi and Mr Abe will review the entire spectrum of bilateral co-operation. He will have an audience with the Emperor of Japan here tomorrow. Listed on his itinerary is a visit to Kobe by the famed Shinkansen bullet train, the technology that will be deployed for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed railway.

Mr Modi will be visiting the Kawasaki Heavy Industries facility in Kobe, where the high speed trains are manufactured. Mr Modi and Mr Abe will review the entire spectrum of bilateral cooperation tomorrow. He will interact with top business leaders from India and Japan to look for ways to further strengthen bilateral trade and investment ties.