Japan to build India's first high-speed train

$12 billion in loans will be provided for the railway system

Japan will provide $12 billion of soft loans to build India's first bullet train, the two nations announced during a visit by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that also yielded deeper defense ties and a plan for civil nuclear cooperation.

Relations have strengthened recently between Asia's second and third largest economies, and Abe and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi enjoy a personal friendship.