Mumbai: Japan will relax visa norms for Indian tourists in a bid to enhance people-to-people exchanges and mutual understanding between the two Asian giants, official sources said.

The simplification of Japanese visa procedures for Indian tourists is expected to be announced as part of the ''Japan-India Tourism Exchange Year 2007'' being launched by the two governments on April 18.

As Japan and India emerge closer politically and economically and in security-relates issues, increased people-to-people exchanges between the two Asian giants is seen as necessary for the integration process.

"In this first India-Japan Tourism Exchange Year, we are certain that introducing history and tradition in a positive way will surely have significance in accelerating mutual understanding and exchange between the two nations," a Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) official said.

The ''India-Japan Tourism Exchange Year'' was conceived during prime minister Manmohan Singh''s visit to Japan last December. Japan will also participate in the South Asia Travel and Tourism Exchange (SATTE) 2007 to be held from April 19 while India will participate in the World Travel Fair in Japan in September.

India and Japan will celebrate the year 2007 as friendship and exchange year.

Tourism ministry officials said that the two countries would start an eight-fold initiative to boost tourism between the two countries.

They said that Indian and Japanese people had great interest in visiting each other''s country and initiatives would be taken to ensure easy visa facilitation for them.