Kohima, Feb. 16: The strains of the Japanese anthem rent the air and their national flag fluttered in the wind during an emotional welcome to a delegation from that country, at the Mount Puliebadze war memorial.

The memorial was erected by the Naga National Council (NNC) in honour of the Japanese soldiers who had fallen some 70 years ago during World War II. The Naga National Council had supported the combined force of Indian National Army (INA), led by Subhas Chandra Bose, and the Japanese army.

Pukoho Viro, now 88 years old and from Jakhama, also lent his voice to the Japanese national anthem.

' Arigato (thank you),' he told the Japanese delegation, deep inside the jungles of Mount Puliebadze, Jotsoma. 'Naga-Nippon thamatachi (Naga-Japanese are friends),' he added.

Viro had learned a little Japanese in 1944 when the 'invaders' had opened a school at Jakhama, 15km from Kohima, and forced the surrounding villages to learn the language. He can also write a few Japanese words and knows the numbers. 'There are 52 alphabets in Japanese,' he added. Many older people in the southern Angami area in the district still know some Japanese.

The school had to be closed as the war raged in and around Kohima on April 4, 1944.

'Kohima was then surrounded by Allied forces,' Viro recalled. He said during the bombardment, at least one senior official based at Jakhama village was killed.

The team also visited trenches dug by their soldiers. The memorial stands at a place called Kiheru and was inaugurated on December 23, 1999.

'I am so emotional to see the Naga people singing our national anthem,' said Tomoki Nakamura, a co-team leader of the Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA).

The Japanese team is in the state to survey the prospect of agricultural ties between Nagaland and Japan.

Nakamura said they would suggest a cemetery for the fallen soldiers at Kohima.

'We had a bad history 70 years ago but now the Naga people and Japanese should build a better relationship,' he added.

The people of Jotsoma have decided to donate land if the Japanese government wants to have a cemetery there.

The visiting Japanese delegation and Indian officials laid wreaths at the memorial.

The general secretary of the Naga National Council, V. Nagi, said the objective was to build a better relationship between the two communities.