By IANS,
New Delhi : Citing the increasing popularity of Japanese TV comics Ninja Hattori and Doraemon in India, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda Wednesday pitched for greater popular contacts between the two countries and thanked India for its support in the aftermath of the tsunami and quake.
Unveiling his vision of India-Japan relations in the 21st century, Noda, who is on his maiden visit to India, pushed for reinvigorating people-to-people contacts through travel, tourism and increasing popular contacts.
Ninja Hattori and Doraemon (a rage among Indian children), are becoming popular in India, said Noda, eliciting a chuckle from an audience comprising mostly diplomats and the media.
Deeper exchanges at the grassroots level and among the youth and students are needed to build stronger ties, the prime minister said. He added that there is plan for 600 Indian and Japanese youth to visit reach other’s country.
Noda also thanked India for sending its disaster response force to Japan in the aftermath of a massive tsunami and earthquake that struck the economic powerhouse in March, leading to the Fukushima nuclear incident. “India has always stood by Japan in difficult times,” he said.
He also invited Indian companies to invest in the reconstruction of the tsunami-hit special zone.