ITANAGAR, 24 Oct: Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Friday concluded his Japan tour, terming the visit “immensely productive” as he held a series of high-level engagements aimed at boosting tourism, cultural exchange, academic collaboration and strategic partnership between the East Asian country and India’s Northeast.
In a series of posts on X, Khandu said the visit helped build a roadmap for deeper engagement with Japan in line with the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
On the final day of his tour, Khandu met Dr Atsushi Sunami, president of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation (SPF), and senior officials at the SPF headquarters. He said the interaction helped consolidate key learnings and future areas of cooperation.
“We discussed key takeaways and a future roadmap for deeper engagement with Japan across various sectors,” Khandu said in a post, expressing gratitude to the SPF for facilitating meetings with policymakers, academia, journalists and business leaders.
“We will continue to take forward the shared agenda through close collaboration with the SPF and the Indian embassy,” he added.
Earlier, the chief minister held a meeting with eminent Japanese scholars and media representatives, including Ryohei Kasai, Takenori Horimoto, Mayumi Murayama, Yujiro Futori, Toru Takahashi and Akiko Suzuki, along with senior members of the SPF.
Khandu described the exchange as “a wonderful opportunity to share insights about the Northeast, particularly Arunachal Pradesh, its culture, tourism potential and development story.”
The chief minister also met Hiroshi Tanimura, executive director of the Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA), during the day, where both sides discussed ways to boost tourism linkages.
The talks centred on enhancing cooperation between Japan and India’s Northeast, with special focus on Arunachal, and promoting two-way travel.
Khandu said the discussions were “productive” as they explored new avenues to attract Japanese travellers and encourage people-to-people exchange.
During the visit, Khandu also interacted with representatives of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) in Tokyo.
He met Dr Tsewang Gyalpo Arya and Tashi Yangzom, expressing happiness over the wellbeing of the Tibetan community in Japan.
“Happy to know that the Tibetan community in Japan is doing well and is thriving with the continued support of the Government of Japan,” he wrote in another post.
Khandu’s multi-city Japan tour focused on building partnerships spanning tourism, cultural diplomacy, academic collaboration and strategic understanding of the Northeast, with the chief minister expressing confidence that the initiatives discussed would translate into long-term cooperation. (PTI)
