Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, ahead of his trip to Japan, posted a series of tweets in Japanese on Thursday.
Modi, who is slated to visited Japan on 30 August, was requested by his Japanese friends to talk to them in their own language.
With his eight posts in Japanese, Modi instantly gained popularity as hundreds not only in India but also in Japan retweeted his posts.
Modi's friends from Japan reportedly helped him compose and tweet the messages in Japanese.
"Friends from Japan asked me to talk to the people of Japan directly in Japanese. I also thank them for helping with the the translation," he said in a tweet in English.
Modi will conclude his Japan visit on 3 September.
この訪日は、私にとって、インド亜大陸外で初めての二国間訪問となる。当初は７月初旬を予定していたが、議会の都合で不可能になった。
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 28, 2014
In a tweet in Japanese, Modi addressing Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe said that he deeply respected Abe's leadership and was particularly looking forward to meeting him.
私は８月３０日から日本を訪問する。印日関係を強化するこの訪問を、とても楽しみにしている。@AbeShinzo — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 28, 2014
He also said that he was very "excited" about the visit that will strengthen the relationship between the two countries.
東京と京都を訪ね、学生、政治指導者、企業幹部など、日本社会のあらゆる層の人々と交流する。
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 28, 2014
In one particular Japanese Tweet, Modi also reminisced on his earlier visit to Japan, when he had visited Tokyo and Kyoto.
東京と京都を訪ね、学生、政治指導者、企業幹部など、日本社会のあらゆる層の人々と交流する。
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 28, 2014
In another Japanese tweet he said: "For me, this visit is a bilateral visit for the first time in the Indian subcontinent outside. It had planned to early July initially, it became impossible in the circumstances of the parliament."
この訪日は、私にとって、インド亜大陸外で初めての二国間訪問となる。当初は７月初旬を予定していたが、議会の都合で不可能になった。 — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 28, 2014
He also said in a Twitter post that Japan and India have stood the test of time and both the democracies are committed to the promotion of peace and prosperity.
The Indian PM is known for his multilingual skills.
In a rally in Hyderabad on 11 August 2013, Modi spoke in Telugu and has also attempted to address people in Oriya during his trip to Puri, Odisha.
Apart from Gujarati, Hindi and English, he can speak Marathi fluently. A video of him speaking in Malayalam also has gone viral.
And before being elected as the Prime Minister, Modi had once tweeted in 13 languages including Urdu apart from English and Hindi.
