Akie Abe and Yogi Adityanath unveil Shinzo Abe Memorial Corridor in Varanasi

Akie Abe wept as she and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath opened the Shinzo Abe Memorial Corridor at Varanasi’s Rudraksh Convention Centre. The ceremony coincided with Prime Minister Narendra Modi completing 25 years in public office, and Akie thanked Modi and the Indian people for the invitation. She recalled her husband’s 2015 visit to Kashi with Modi, when they watched the Ganga Aarti together, and said visiting Varanasi had long been a personal wish. Yogi described the corridor as a symbol of the strategic, cultural and diplomatic ties that now bind India and Japan. He noted Modi first took oath as Gujarat chief minister on 7 October 2001 and that a new dimension has emerged in the bilateral friendship since then. Yogi also mentioned Shinzo Abe’s Padma Vibhushan award in 2021 and his many trips to India that deepened cooperation. The Rudraksh Convention Centre itself was built with Japanese assistance and inaugurated by Modi in 2021; its façade bears 108 rudrakshas, a number linked to Japanese Buddhist belief that humans have 108 afflictions, echoed by the ringing of 108 bells at year‑end. Yogi announced a 500‑acre “Japan City” near Jewar Airport, a Yamanashi Desk at Invest UP to aid Japanese investors, and a green‑hydrogen pilot project with Yamanashi Prefecture. He said nearly 1,400 Japanese firms operate in India and that 2027 will mark 75 years of diplomatic ties. The chief minister invoked the phrase “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” – the world is one family – and highlighted Uttar Pradesh’s Buddhist sites such as Sarnath and Kushinagar.

Context

India‑Japan cooperation spans infrastructure, trade and cultural exchange, with projects like the Rudraksh Centre and upcoming Japan City illustrating how diplomatic goodwill translates into tangible development on the ground.