Abe, who will become the first Japanese Prime Minister to be the chief guest at the Republic Day parade tomorrow, called on President Pranab Mukherjee at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
They discussed a host of issues ranging from historical ties, trade and investment to improving cooperation in the defence sector.
"India attaches great importance to India-Japan relations and appreciates Prime Minister Abe's view that India-Japan relations have the largest potential in any bilateral relations," a statement from Rashtrapati Bhavan said.
The visiting Prime Minister also emphasised the need to increase trade and investment develop further even as 1,000 Japanese companies are already in India.
Abe said he has brought along with him a large business delegation and is also looking forward to developing exchanges in the academic field.