TOKYO: Japan’s Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko is scheduled to visit Turkiye on January 15 on the heels of a European tour and will meet her Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo said.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Japan and Turkiye.
The two countries have a historically friendly relationship that goes back to the Ertugrul shipwreck incident off the coast of Wakayama Prefecture in 1890 when the Japanese rescued many Turkish citizens.
Japan and Turkiye mutually waive visas for short-term stays, but this agreement is seen as problematic for the Turkish government because many Turkish Kurds apply for refugee status in Japan, claiming “discrimination and persecution” in their homeland.
