In a bid to improve tourism between the two countries, Subodh Kant Sahai, Minister of Tourism, Govt of India met Jin Matsubara, Minister of Tourism and Infrastructure, Govt of Japan in Tokyo today, according to a release. During the meeting with the Japanese minister, Sahai discussed opportunities for investment in the tourism infrastructure in India to which the Japanese government responded positively and conveyed that they were keen to invest in Buddhist and Medical Tourism in India.
Matsubara also said that Japanese MNC’s were of the opinion that India has huge potential to grow tourism in the Buddhist and Medical Tourism sector and investment in this sector will pay huge dividends to both the countries. He also emphasised the importance of Indian medical systems like Yoga and Ayurveda as both are immensely popular in Japan and showed keen interest in having more yoga centres in Japan.
Sahai also reviewed the activities of the India Tourism office in Tokyo. Alok Prasad, Indian Ambassador in Japan informed Sahai, that India is celebrating 60th year of diplomatic relations with Japan in 2011 and that India is the theme of the Snow festival in Japan and a Taj Mahal made of ice will be replicated at the festival. Sahai informed that an Indian cultural troupe would be participating in the festival and that Indian cuisine would be on display at the festival.