Prime Minister Modi meditating at the Kinkaku-ji temple in Kyoto
On his second day in Japan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited two leading Buddhist temples in Kyoto, met with the city mayor and later sought Japan's help on combating sickle cell disease prevalent in tribal regions of India.
PM Modi began his day by first visiting the Toji and Kinkaku-ji Buddhist temples. Dressed in a white kurta pyjama and bandhgala, Mr Modi was accompanied by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe who had flown down to Kyoto especially to welcome the Indian leader.
The two leaders "rekindled ancient India - Japan civilisational bonds with visit to Toji temple", an external affairs ministry spokesman tweeted. The meeting between the two leaders was described as "exceptionally warm and friendly."
Mr Modi went around the Toji temple, an eighth-century shrine and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the company of the chief monk who explained to him the features of the temple, officials said.
The Prime Minister then visited another ancient temple, the Kinkaku-ji temple, built in 1397, where "he also interacted with a number of visitors who greeted him enthusiastically", an Indian official statement said. He also spent some time with the 83-year-old head priest Yasu Nagamori of the temple.
His next stop was at Kyoto University, where he met stem cell pioneer Shinya Yamanaka, the Nobel Prize winner in 2012.
Syed Akbaruddin, an external affairs ministry spokesman, tweeted about the meeting.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Stem cell research cooperation now on agenda! <a href="https://twitter.com/PMOIndia">@PMOIndia</a> & Prof Yamanaka discuss prospects of cooperation among Indian & Japanese institutes</p>— Syed Akbaruddin (@MEAIndia) <a href="https://twitter.com/MEAIndia/statuses/505897978494976002">August 31, 2014</a></blockquote>
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Sickling of cells decreases the cells' flexibility and results in a risk of various life threatening complications. It mostly occurs in regions where malaria is rampant.
"The prime minister urged Yamanaka to work towards a cure for this," an official statement said.
Mr Yamanaka remarked that there were currently no Indian researchers at his institute, the Centre for iPS Cell Research and Application, and that "he would like Indian scientists to conduct research at the institute."
Later, the prime minister also met with Kyoto Mayor Daisaku Kadokawa, who briefed Mr Modi about the city that was the capital of imperial Japan. The mayor described the city, home to about 1.5 million people, as "green, smart and modern, yet historic Kyoto."
Within hours of PM Modi's arrival, a partnership agreement was signed between Varanasi -- which the prime minister represents in the Lok Sabha -- and Kyoto on how to preserve heritage while building smart cities.