Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who addressed a joint session of Parliament today, quoted widely the writings of Swami Vivekananda and Mughal scion Dara Shikoh and referred to Emperor Ashoka, Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru.Abe recalled the honour Jawaharlal Nehru accorded to his grandfather Nobusuke Kishi, the first Japanese Premier to visit India, 50 years ago by organising a grand civic reception for him."As the leader of a defeated nation in a war, he (Kishi) must have been very much delighted," Abe said in his 20-minute speech to the joint session attended by Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and several Parliamentarians and diplomats.The visiting dignitary noted that India was the first country to accept Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) from war-torn Japan, which wanted to provide it as a matter of honour. "My grandfather never forgot that fact either."He remembered the gift of four elephants over the years from India - the first donated by Nehru named after his daughter Indira and the latest being Surya in May 2001. "Surya arrived in Japan in May 2001 just as Japan was struggling to wrest itself from a grinding recession. Surya was our reminder that the sun will indeed rise again," said Abe who titled his speech 'Confluence of the Two Seas' after a book authored by Mughal Prince Dara Shikoh, the eldest son of Emperor Shah Jahan.
