IMPHAL, Dec 5 - The Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, is likely to visit Manipur in the middle of the current month to pay homage to Japanese soldiers killed during World War II, at the newly-developed Imphal Peace Museum located at Maibam Lokpa Ching in Bishnupur district, sources said.
The Imphal Peace Museum is located 20 km south-west of Imphal, at the foot of Maibam Lokpa Ching � also known as the Red Hills � where the last battle between the British and the Japanese was fought during World War II. About 70,000 Japanese soldiers are believed to have perished in the Imphal and Kohima battles, which are regarded among the fiercest, from March to June, 1944.
A framed calligraphy by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with the word, �Peace� (or �Heiwa� in Japanese), is one of the main attractions of the museum developed with the support of Japan�s Nippon Foundation by the State Government and the Manipur Tourism Forum.
Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart will hold an annual summit for two days at Guwahati in mid-December. As part of his trip to Guwahati, Abe will also visit Manipur, reports available here said.
Even though no definite date has been fixed for Abe�s visit, officials of the Ministry of External Affairs as well as Japanese officials toured the State to prepare the ground for the high-profile visit, the reports added.
Manipur Chief Secretary Dr J Suresh Babu and other top State officials inspected both the India Peace Memorial and the Imphal Peace Museum last week in connection with the proposed visit of the Japanese Prime Minister.
