Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was accorded a special welcome by the students of Delhi Public School in New Delhi on Friday.
The Japanese-style welcome prompted the visiting dignitary to declare that he felt more popular in India than in Japan.
DPS, R K Puram was the first engagement on Koizumi's two-day visit to India and he was pleasantly surprised by the strong Japanese influence on the school.
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Treated to a slice of his home country through traditional Japanese songs and dances, he said: "You are very good at speaking Japanese. I feel proud of the fact that you have learnt Japanese very well."
The school has a three-decade history of teaching its students Japanese language and running a student exchange programme with Japan.
Koizumi greeted the students with a 'namaskar.'
"I hope that in the future you will play an important role in strengthening our friendship by acting as a bridge between India and Japan," Koizumi said.
The children presented a special dance performance, which was a fusion of Bharatnatyam and Japanese styles.