Modi visit draws pledges of support from Japan

Japanese government and business leaders pledged support Monday for visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's effort to modernize his country's economy. Modi is visiting Japan with a delegation of more than a dozen Indian tycoons, seeking to take still relatively low-key ties between the countries to a ‘new level.’ Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took the rare step of traveling to the ancient city of Kyoto over the weekend to host and dine with Modi. The two leaders, who have exchanged affectionate greetings via their Twitter feeds, were shown in a bear hug. India is keen to gain more support for ambitious energy and construction projects, including high-speed railways. In a speech to Japanese business leaders Modi promised to set up a team to facilitate such efforts and streamline the bureaucracy that has slowed progress in the past. Since taking office three months ago, Modi has traveled to neighboring Nepal and Bhutan and attended a summit of the BRICS emerging nations — Brazil, Russia, India and China. He helped launch an effort to open bank accounts for the poor in India and has set up an investigative team to look into corruption. Meanwhile, the economy has picked up pace in what some analysts are calling the ‘Modi bounce,’ according to AP.