Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday condoled the death of former Japanese premier Yasuhiro Nakasone, hailing him as the architect of modern India-Japan friendship.
Nakasone died on Friday at the age of 101 years.
"I would like to express my condolences for the passing of former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone. In strengthening Japan-India bilateral relations, Prime Minister Nakasone's contribution was valuable. You will be remembered as a person who has created a modern India-Japan friendship," Modi wrote on twitter in Japanese.
In office for five years from November 1982 to November 1987, Nakasone was known for trying to integrate the nation, defeated in World War II, as a full-fledged member of the West during the Cold War era.