The Exhibition was jointly organized by Japan-India Association, Tokyo and India International Centre, New Delhi and supported by the Japan Foundation. It was inaugurated by former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, who is the Chairman of Japan-India Association, Commerce, Industry & Textiles Minister Anand Sharma, IIC President Soli J Sorabjee and Ambassador Akitaka Saiki on 13th March 2012.

During the exhibition period, a panel of learned individuals from India and Japan discussed the theme “Japan-India Relations - Retrospect and Future Perspectives on Wednesday, 14th March from 10:00am to 1:00pm.”

Panelists were Ambassador Hiroshi Hirabayashi and Ambassador Arjun Asrani who spoke on retrospective relations. Ambassador Yasukuni Enoki and Prof Kesavan spoke on future perspectives.

Both the inauguration and the panel discussion were well-attended by academicians, opinion leaders, journalists, bureaucrats, members of Indo-Japan Friendship Associations.

Background information

This exhibition introduces around 60 photos that relate the history of cultural exchange between India and Japan from the Meiji Period (1868-1912) to modern times.

A similar photo exhibition of these bilateral ties was held in 2007 in India and Japan, making the 50th anniversary of the conclusion of the cultural exchange agreement between India and Japan. Since that time, relations between the two nations have evolved immensely. The year 2012 marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the countries, and this exhibition aims to trace the direction of the bilateral ties once again and provide an opportunity to look toward the future.

The exhibition includes valuable photos, carefully selected, that record the history of India-Japan relations over a period exceeding the past 100 years. The commentary for the photos will be revised, and a number of recent photos will also be on display.