Japan and India sign civil nuclear agreement

Mr Modi, left, praised the two countries' "growing convergence"

Nov 12, 2016- Japan and India have signed a civil nuclear agreement after talks in Tokyo between their two leaders.

Japan will supply fuel, equipment and technology to India, which wants more nuclear-generated electricity for its rapidly growing population.

The accord is strictly for peaceful purposes and Japan can break it if India conducts another nuclear weapons test. The last Indian test was in 1998.

The accord was signed by Japan's Shinzo Abe and India's Narendra Modi.

It is the first time Japan has signed such an agreement with a country that is not a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Some civil society groups in Japan oppose the pact as they are unhappy that India has not signed the NPT.

Japan is the only country to have suffered a nuclear attack, when cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed in 1945.

India says the NPT is discriminatory and that it has legitimate concerns about its long-term nuclear-armed rival Pakistan.

The nuclear agreement with Japan follows a similar deal with the US in 2008, which gave India access to nuclear technology after decades of isolation.

Speaking ahead of the signing on Friday, Mr Modi praised the "growing convergence" of India-Japan relations.