Japan sorry for placing Indian flag upside down at talks

Kuala Lumpur: Japan on Saturday apologised to India for placing the Indian flag upside down during a bilateral talk hosted by it on the sidelines of the 13th ASEAN-India Summit here.

“Japan inadvertently made error of placing Indian flag upside down. Once error was noticed, Japan apologised and corrective action was taken immediately,” ANI news agency quoted sources as saying.

In an embarrassment for India, the tricolour was seen hoisted upside down during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's photo-op with Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe before the talks.

The national flag was in the background of Prime Minister Modi and Abe's customary handshake at the Summit and was hoisted on a stand next to that of Japan.

The flag is seen with the green at the top and the saffron below as the two leaders met for the second bilateral on the sidelines of ASEAN-India summit.