Prime Minister Narendra Modi's current visit to Japan and his visit to Japan in 2007 as the Chief Minister of Gujarat are important for strengthening the relations between the two countries. PM Modi was warmly welcomed by the NRIs. Photos of PM Modi's 2007 visit have been shared by Modi Archive. He was then the Chief Minister of Gujarat.
Modi Archive said that Narendra Modi visited Japan in April 2007 as the Chief Minister of Gujarat. Where he led a 40-member delegation of bureaucrats and industry leaders. He had one goal in mind - to establish Gujarat and by extension India on the world map as a center of industry, infrastructure and innovation.
Met officials of several Japanese companies
During his six-day visit to Tokyo, Osaka, Hiroshima and Kobe, he interacted with leading companies like Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Sumitomo, Marubeni, Suzuki, Toshiba, Nippon Steel, Nissan Steel, UNIDO and Tsuneshi Shipbuilding and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between JETRO and the Department of Industry of Gujarat.
Ports, logistics, infrastructure and human resource development were discussed at the Japan Chambers of Commerce and Industries and the India-Japan Friendship Forum, with Gujarat presenting itself as a natural entry point for Japan in India's growth story. During this visit, Narendra Modi also met Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and discussed the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC).
When Modi gave a very special gift to Abe
Modi presented Abe with a CD on the Buddhist heritage sites of Gujarat and a hand-woven tribal shawl, and also invited him to visit Gujarat. In turn, Abe assured Modi of Japan's full support for the Gujarat section of the DMIC. Stepped into the cockpit of a Japanese bullet train. What if such a high-speed rail could transform Indian connectivity? The seed of this idea in 2007 blossomed years later into the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project, a flagship project of India-Japan cooperation.
Narendra Modi visited the Peace Memorial Park and Museum in Hiroshima and paused to learn the lessons of history. He paid his respects in prayer to the Suzuki Meikichi Literary Memorial and Fountain. In Kobe, he attended a cultural event at The India Club, which has served as a bridge for the Indian diaspora since 1904.
The 2007 visit significantly expanded business and cultural ties between Gujarat and Japan. In 2012, Narendra Modi returned to Japan, this time not just as the chief minister of Gujarat, but as a leader whose reputation had begun to go beyond the state's borders. His five-day visit from July 22 to 27 was at the formal invitation of the Japanese government.
