Shinzo Abe and Modi: Will Japan be India's new best friend in Southeast Asian region?

New Delhi, May 21: Many have already drawn parallels between Japanese Prime Minister

and India's soon-to-be PM

. Now, here is yet another interesting fact - The Japanese premiere (@AbeShinzo) has lakhs of followers on Twitter but he follows only three people and Modi is one among them.

The following list include Akie Abe, Abe's wife of 27 years, Naoki Inose, a Japanese journalist, historian, social critic and biographer of literary figures, and Narendra Modi.

Abe was one of the first ones to congratulate Modi on his victory. Even though the Japanese premier wished him offline, Modi took to Twitter to thank him. In 2012, when Abe returned to power in Japan, Modi congratulated him with a telephone call.

According to Modi, he and Abe continued to be in touch during the former's tenure as Gujarat Chief Minister.

"Personally, I have a wonderful experience of working with Japan as CM. I am sure we will take India-Japan ties to newer heights," Modi tweeted.

In an article published in Japan Times, Indian researcher and journalist Brahma Chellanay described Modi as India's Shinzo Abe.

"Just as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's return to power in late 2012, after six years of political instability, reflected Japan's determination to reinvent itself as a more competitive and confident country, Narendra Modi's election victory reflects Indians' desire for a dynamic, assertive leader to help revitalize their country's economy and security", Chellaney wrote.

Many journalists and researchers find similarities between Modi's Gujarat model and Abe's Japan model.

Abe is known for a set of economic policies, known as 'Abenomics'

And there is yet another similarity - Just as Modi will be the first prime minister born after India gained independence in 1947, Abe is Japan's first prime minister born after World War II.

Oneindia News