Japanese PM looks for Association with varsities

Prime Minister of Japan Yukio Hatoyama on Sunday said Japan would explore the possibility of strengthening and deepening cooperation between the universities in Japan and those in Maharashtra.

Prime Minister of Japan Yukio Hatoyama on Sunday said Japan would explore the possibility of strengthening and deepening cooperation between the universities in Japan and those in Maharashtra.

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The 62-year-old Japanese leader said Japan has similar cooperation with universities of China and Korea.

Accompanied by wife Miyuki a high-level official delegation, the Japanese premier met Maharashtra Governor S.C. Jamir at
Raj Bhavan at a dinner hosted in his honour.

Jamir said the state would welcome Japanese cooperation in improvement in the quality of higher education.

The Japanese PM said relations between Mumbai and Japan date back to 1893 when a link was opened between Mumbai and a Japanese city for trade in cotton. He added that it was not enough to have cooperation in trade and commerce alone; it’s equally important to have mutual exchanges in culture and artistic works.

Thanking Hatoyama for including Maharashtra in his itinerary, Jamir said this was the fifth annual visit by the Prime Ministers of the two countries in as many years, which showed that the relations between India and Japan were built on solid foundations.