External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday commended Japan’s Ambassador to India Hiroshi Suzuki for celebrating the 70th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between the two countries.
It was celebrated with Ideathon, Yabusame and Millet Sushi at the Embassy of Japan in India. “Delighted to visit the Embassy of Japan this evening. Commend Amb Suzuki for celebrating the 70th anniversary of our diplomatic relationship with the Ideathon, Yabusame and today’s Millet Sushi,” tweeted Jaishankar.
Celebrating the current year as the 70th anniversary of the establishment of Japan-India diplomatic relations, Japan called upon youths from India and Japan to set for a 900 km road journey from New Delhi to Varanasi spending nine days together and generating ideas to solve social and economic issues.
Starting September 16, forty youths from Japan and India (20 from each country) get together under the youth exchange programme in New Delhi to participate in the 900km venture-based Ideathon “Hack the Innovative Future” that culminated in India’s temple city Varanasi on September 24.
Yabusame is a ceremony in which archers clad in the hunting outfit of medieval warriors shoot at three targets as they race by on horseback. Among the yabusame events held across Japan, the one that’s best known takes place every year on September 16 at Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine in Kamakura.
Millet Sushi is a vegan alternative to sushi rolls. It substitutes nutritious millet for rice and uses colorful vegetables and fruits like cucumber, carrot, and mango instead of fresh fish.
Strengthening the Indo-Pacific region, a concept first articulated by former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, was at the top of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with his Japan’s counterpart, Fumio Kishida in Tokyo, where PM Modi attended Abe’s state funeral.
In the first decade after diplomatic ties were established, several high-level exchanges took place, including the Japanese Prime Minister’s visit to India in 1957.
Japan was among the few countries that bailed India out of the balance of payment crisis in 1991.
The Act East Forum, established in 2017, aims to provide a platform for India-Japan collaboration under India’s “Act East Policy” rubric and Japan’s “Free and Open Indo-Pacific Vision”.
During PM Modi’s visit to Japan in October 2008, two leaders issued “the Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation between Japan and India”.
There are also various frameworks of security and defence dialogue between Japan and India including the “2+2” meeting, annual Defence Ministerial Dialogue and Coast Guard-to-Coast Guard dialogue.
India and Japan’s defence forces organise a series of bilateral exercises namely, JIMEX, SHINYUU Maitra, and Dharma Guardian. Both countries also participate in the Malabar exercise with the USA.
While, Quad alliance is an informal strategic dialogue between India, the USA, Japan and Australia with a shared objective to ensure and support a “free, open and prosperous” Indo-Pacific region. (ANI)
