Manmohan to visit Japan in mid-December

PM will meet his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe, who argued earlier this year that the two democracies should move closer together to balance a growing China.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would visit Japan in mid-December, the foreign ministry here announced on Tuesday, amid a drive in Tokyo to move closer to New Delhi.

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Singh will meet with new conservative Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who argued in a book earlier this year that the two democracies should move closer together to balance a growing China.

Singh would visit Japan from December 13-16, the foreign ministry said. He would also be received by Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko.

The last Indian prime minister to visit Japan was Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2001.

Abe's predecessor, Junichiro Koizumi, travelled to both India and Pakistan last year.