Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and former prime minister Yosihide Suga joined the Indian Republic Day celebrations at the Indian embassy in Tokyo along with other senior leaders on Wednesday.
H.E Mr. Suga Yoshihide speaking at the #73rdRepublicDayReception organized by @IndianEmbTokyo recalled his in-person meeting with @narendramodi in Washington DC, their 5 telephone conversations and the inauguration of Rudraksh Convention Center in Varanasi, India@sugawitter pic.twitter.com/4HV9l0PAiT
— India in Japanインド大使館 (@IndianEmbTokyo) January 26, 2022
They also released a logo marking the 70th anniversary of establishing Japan-India diplomatic relations. The two countries have planned a series of events to commemorate the 70th anniversary with a view to giving an impetus to their relationship.
The Indian embassy tweeted: "H.E Mr. Suga Yoshihide speaking at the 73rd Republic Day Reception organized by Indian Emb Tokyo. [Suga] recalled his in-person meeting with Narendra Modi in Washington DC, their 5 telephone conversations and the inauguration of Rudraksh Convention Center in Varanasi, India".
Hosoda Hiroyuki, the Speaker of the House of Representatives also attended the Republic Day reception at the embassy. He also wished the resumption of parliamentary exchanges between the elected representatives of the two nations.
@IndianEmbTokyo hosted a reception to commemorate 73rd #RepublicDay of India, graced by H.E Mr. Hosoda, Speaker of House of Representatives, H.E. Mr Hayashi Yoshimasa, Minister for Foreign Affairs, H.E. Mr Yoshihide Suga, Former Prime Minister,….. pic.twitter.com/4apZ9dNslk
— India in Japanインド大使館 (@IndianEmbTokyo) January 26, 2022
Japan and India are taking their diplomatic relations forward under the theme 'Building a future for our centenary' to mark their 70-years of relations. The two countries had initiated their relations immediately after the Second World War, with India providing much-needed support to Japan.
Now both the nations are together working on balancing China in the Indo-Pacific region by improving trade and commerce, defence and diplomacy as well as building relations with other like-minded countries like France and Australia.
Congratulations to the celebration event on the 73rd Republic Day at the Embassy of India in Tokyo, with the presence of Foreign Minister Hayashi. #JapanIndia #RepublicDay #70thAnniversary @IndianEmbTokyo https://t.co/W59USSYDul pic.twitter.com/p7ADLCtz6r
— Satoshi Suzuki (@EOJinIndia) January 26, 2022
They are also linking up in partnership in south-east Asia to build resilient supply chains, strengthen the smaller nations and link them through trade and connectivity corridors.
Similarly, Japan and India are also giving development aid as well as economic assistance to countries like Myanmar and Sri Lanka in an effort to keep them out of the ambit of Chinese influence.
Recently, Japanese ambassador to India Satoshi Suzuki said that India and Japan can work together towards global peace and prosperity. He said that with commonalities across political, economic and strategic interests, the two nations can contribute to "a rules-based free and open international order. There are a plethora of fields that we can cooperate in security issues including cyber security, outer space and economic security".