Mumbai: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is leaving here on Sunday, July 22, 2012 on a four-day official tour of Japan on an invitation of Government of Japan. A big delegation of top industrialists and businessmen of Gujarat, who have forged Indo-Japanese partnership in different sectors, will also accompany him.It is perhaps for the first time that the Japanese Government has invited a chief minister of a state or province of any country to visit their country, usually this reserved for heads of a nation.Incidentally, Japan was a ‘partner country’ in two previous edition of the state’s flagship event biennial Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors’ Summit, and visibly impressed by the all round development in the state.

Gujarat is also having a major share occupying maximum land portion in the ongoing inter-state ambitious Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) project being undertaken by India in collaboration with Japanese Government.As per the itinerary, Mr. Modi is scheduled to attend as many as 44 functions during visit to Tokyo, Hamamatsu, Nagoya, Osaka and Kobe provinces. He will address leading corporate honchos of Japan and India at including seminars on three different sectors to explore industrial investment. He will participate in high-level round table conferences to strengthen economic, industrial and cultural relations between Japan and Gujarat, and brief the compatriots about Gujarat’s Vision for 21st Century.The Chief Minister is also scheduled to discuss policy matters with top functionaries of Government of Japan for different joint sector projects, and address meetings of Japan-India Parliamentary Fellowship League and India Centre Foundation.

He will travel from Tokyo to Hamamatsu and then from Hamamatsu to Nagoya by Japan’s Bullet Trains to have the firsthand feel of the ride. He will discuss details of ambitious Bullet Train on Ahmedabad-Mumbai-Pune section and Ahmedabad-Dholera Metro Bullet Train, besides two Japanese Industrial Parks to be set up by Japan in Gujarat as part of DMIC.He will take round of the modern seaport at Kobe to develop ports on the same lines in Gujarat. He will share Gujarat’s experience in disaster management with Japan, in the light of recent severe earthquake in the region.This visit is being considered as a great opportunity to strengthen mutual relations between Gujarat and Japan, as well as in Gujarat taking a leading role in Indian economy.