BENGALURU: Sake, sushis and an evening of music and conversations. Friday marked the birthday of the Emperor of Japan who turned 63 on February 23. And over 270 guests made their way to a star hotel to celebrate the occasion. Some traditional music by a choir comprising Japanese nationals gave company to an evening buzzing with conversation.
“His Majesty Emperor Naruhito is the 126th Emperor of Japan. It will soon be the fifth year of his reign since ascending to the throne in 2019,” says Nakane Tsutomu, Consul-General of Japan in Bengaluru.
The evening also saw actor Ramya, who celebrated her 40th birthday recently in Japan, take part in ‘Kagami-biraki’ – a celebratory ceremony where the lid of the sake barrel is broken open before being served to everyone present. Despite a health scare of one of the guests – who was revived by a senior medical professional in the gathering, Dr Sankarshana VT – the evening went on smoothly.
Nine months ago, the cool weather of Bengaluru gave Tsutomu a warm welcome. And ever since, he has been working on putting the city on the global map. “Bengaluru is a key driving factor of the Indian economy. With Covid-19 subsiding, corporate ventures such as innovation and startups have become more active. Some Japanese companies have also established R&D centres in Bengaluru,” he says, adding this year, Japan and India lead the G7 and G20 chairmanships, respectively.
“Despite the Covid disaster, Japan’s export to India was USD 14.4 billion and import was $ 6.1 billion in 2021, each about 1.5 times higher than the past five years. The number of Japanese companies operating in India is steadily rising. In 2021, the number of companies in India totalled 1,439. Karnataka alone is home to 512 offices. The number of Japanese companies in India has tripled in the past 10 years. And the number of offices in Karnataka has also increased by 3.5 times,” he says.
Tsutomu is very optimistic about the Indo-Japanese relationship which he points out was reasserted on the occasion of its 70th anniversary and is expected to grow further, with cooperation in global areas, especially in the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals’.
“During his visit to India last March, Prime Minister [Fumio] Kishida, in a meeting with Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi, announced the realization of a ¥5 trillion investment and loan to India over the next five years. Prime Minister Kishida will be visiting Prime Minister Modi again and it is expected that Japan and India will further deepen their ties,” he says amidst a busy evening.