Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's visit to Japan beginning this week is expected to give a boost to the country's bilateral ties, strained by 1998 Pokharan nuclear tests.
Vajpayee, who is leaving for Osaka on December 7, is expected to have one-to-one talks with his Japanese counterpart Junichiro Koizumi on a wide range of issues followed by delegation-level talks in Tokyo on December 10. The menace of global terrorism in the wake of September 11 terrorist strikes in the United States is likely to figure during the parleys.
Vajpayee will be the second Prime Minister to visit Japan in the past ten years after P V Narasimha Rao. Vajpayee had postponed his Tokyo visit in February last following the devastating earthquake in Gujarat.
The Prime Minister will spend two days in Osaka before going to Tokyo on December 9. He will be accorded a ceremonial welcome at Akassaka Palace on December 10.
Japanese Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka and economy and trade minister Takeo Hiranuma would be calling on the Prime Minister during his stay in Tokyo.
Before his meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister, Vajpayee will have interaction with the business community and a meeting with the Leader of the opposition.
The nuclear tests in May 1998 had led to a serious setback in bilateral relations with Japan imposing economic sanctions on India. These were, however, lifted in October this year.
Vajpayee will have an audience with Emperor Akihito before returning to Delhi on December 11.
Bureau Report