Rajnath Singh lays wreath at Ichigaya in Tokyo, pays tribute to Japan's SDF forces

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday evening (local time) laid a wreath at Ichigaya in Tokyo and paid his respects to Japanese self-defence forces (SDF) personnel who died in the line of duty.

Singh arrived here, earlier in the day, on the first leg of his five-day visit to East Asian countries, including Japan and South Korea, with an aim to strengthen military and defence ties with India.

The Defence Minister will be in Japan on September 2 and September 3 following which he will visit South Korea from September 5 and September 6 for a bilateral visit.

As part of his visit to Japan, the Minister will also co-chair the Annual Defence Ministerial Dialogue with his counterpart, Takeshi Iwaya, Japan's Defence Ministry spokesperson Bharat Bhushan Babu said in a media statement.

"The Ministerial Dialogue will aim to further strengthen India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership and will include wide-ranging discussions to enhance the bilateral defence and security engagements between the two countries," he said.

During his visit, Singh will also call on the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

India and Japan have developed strong ties over the last five years and there is also a personal bonding between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart.

Experts feel that the two countries are also natural allies in the field of defence and security.

Following Japan, Singh will fly to South Korea to engage in a bilateral dialogue with his counterpart Jeong Kyeong - Doo and call on South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak - Yon.

The Minister is scheduled to address a CEO's forum followed by a Business-to-Government (B2G) meeting in Seoul with the participation of members of the Defence Industry from both sides with an aim to encourage co-operation between defence Industry of India and the Republic of Korea.