- Thursday, May 02, 2024
In his message to Fumio Kishida, Modi said India values its relationship with Japan as a ‘special strategic and global partner, and is ready to extend all possible assistance at this hour.’ sources said.
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (4) wrote to his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida, expressing solidarity with the latter’s country and its people in the wake of a series of earthquakes that rocked it on the New Year’s Day.
The quakes were accompanied by a tsunami and nearly 100 people were killed in the natural disaster. More than 450 people were injured and 200 went missing. Several thousands of houses were damaged.
In his message to Kishida, Modi said India values its relationship with Japan as a “special strategic and global partner, and is ready to extend all possible assistance at this hour,” sources said.
Read: Japan airport plane collision: 5 dead; deceased were on way to help quake victims
Modi also wrote that he is “deeply anguished and concerned” over the earthquake and expressed “deepest condolences” to the families of those killed in the disaster, the sources added.
Read: Not a happy new year for Japan as major quake prompts tsunami warning
“I am deeply anguished and concerned to learn about the major earthquake that struck Japan on January 1,” Modi reportedly said. “I express my deepest condolences to the bereaved families of those who lost their lives. We stand in solidarity with Japan and its people affected by the disaster,” a source quoted Modi as writing to Kishida.
Last year, both Modi and Kishida visited each other’s country showing signs that ties between the two Asian powers have deepened significantly. Kishida, in fact, visited India twice in 2023, including during the G20 summit in New Delhi.
Japan was hit by a series of quakes, one of which measured 7.5 on the Richter Scale. The tremors claimed 94 lives and as many as 464 people were injured and more than 200 went missing, AFP reported.
Rescue operations were hit by unfavourable weather and damaged roads. The quakes resulted in a loss of more than 800 billion yen (£4.3 billion), Bloomberg cited Takahide Kiuchi, an executive economist at the Nomura Research Institute, as saying.
The US announced an aid package of $100,000 (£78,947) on Friday (5) for Japan and promised more would come. The Japan government has also planned to use 4.74 billion yen (£25.7 million) in reserves to help the areas hit by the quake, the country’s Kyodo News reported.
(With agency inputs)
