Dia Mirza Handrich, Miss Asia-Pacific 2000 and the popular Bollywood actress was in Delhi to promote Japan tourism in India at an event organized by the Japan Tourism Agency (JTA), Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) and the Embassy of Japan at the India International Center (IIC). The event was part of an ongoing series of events held to commemorate the 60th year of diplomatic relations between India and Japan in 2012.

The event also featured spectacular performances by traditional dancers from Morioka and Sendai regions of Tohoku in Northern Japan, a region often referred to as a "treasure chest" of folk arts. The centuries-old folk music and dance tradition survived the ferocious earthquake and tsunami of 3/11. The region is now on the road to recovery and efforts are being made to continuously revive the tourism in affected areas.

“We take this opportunity to express our gratitude and show appreciation towards Indian visitors for their continuous support to Japan, especially after the twin disaster of earthquake and Tsunami last year. We are confident that we would achieve our goal of welcoming 18 million foreign tourists to Japan by 2016 through our sustained promotional activities and tourism friendly policies,” commented Norifumi Idee, Commissioner of the Japan Tourism Agency.

Japan has made tourism as one their key priorities in up-lifting the country’s economy out of the calamities of 2011. JNTO is actively promoting the destination in the Indian market as part of its emerging markets strategy to inspire leisure travelers to visit Japan. In first eight months of 2012, the number of total Indian visitor arrivals stood at 45,200; which is an impressive 18.4% growth compared to the same period in the year 2011. Apart from traditional marketing strategies, Japan is also leveraging on the social media platforms like a dedicated “Visit Japan from India” Facebook page, targeted specifically for its Indian fans.