Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart, Shigeru Ishiba, travelled together on a Shinkansen bullet train from Tokyo to Sendai on Saturday, covering the 370-km distance as part of the concluding leg of his two-day visit to Japan.
Upon arrival in Sendai, PM Modi interacted with Indian loco pilots currently receiving training with Japanese Railways. Locals greeted him warmly with chants of “Modi-san, welcome!" as he stepped into the city.
Sharing moments from the train journey, the Japanese Prime Minister posted on X: “On my way to Sendai with Prime Minister Modi. As with last night, I will be accompanying him in the car."
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal described the gesture as a symbol of strong bilateral ties: “A journey of friendship and progress. In a unique gesture symbolizing the warmth of the India-Japan friendship, PM Narendra Modi and PM Shigeru Ishiba travelled together to Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture on the Shinkansen."
Earlier in Tokyo, PM Modi held discussions with governors of 16 Japanese prefectures, where he pitched for deeper state-to-prefecture partnerships under the initiative launched during the 15th Annual India-Japan Summit.
In a post on X, PM Modi wrote: “This morning in Tokyo, interacted with the governors of 16 prefectures of Japan. State-prefecture cooperation is a vital pillar of India-Japan friendship. This is also why a separate initiative on it was launched during the 15th Annual India-Japan Summit yesterday."
Highlighting the scope for collaboration, he added: “There is immense scope to cooperate in areas like trade, innovation, entrepreneurship and more. Futuristic sectors like Startups, tech and AI can also be beneficial."
The MEA echoed this in its own update: “Taking greater strides in the steadfast India-Japan ties. PM Narendra Modi met with the Governors of 16 prefectures in Tokyo."
According to the ministry, discussions explored opportunities in technology, innovation, investment, skills, start-ups and SMEs.
PM Modi underlined that India-Japan relations, built on long-standing civilizational bonds, were thriving and called for expanding engagement beyond Tokyo and New Delhi.
Source: News18