Japan-Türkiye Relations
Meeting between State Minister for Foreign Affairs NAKASONE Yasutaka and Deputy Minister of Trade of the Republic of Türkiye Mustafa TUZCU
October 5, 2026
On October 5, from 5:10 p.m. for approximately 40 minutes, Mr. NAKASONE Yasutaka, State Minister for Foreign Affairs, held a meeting with Mr. Mustafa TUZCU, Deputy Minister of Trade of the Republic of Türkiye, who is visiting Japan to attend the 29th Meeting of the Japan–Türkiye Joint Economic Committee.
- State Minister Nakasone, while referring to the 29th Meeting of the Japan–Türkiye Joint Economic Committee held on the same day, stated that, building on the exchanges at the Japan–Türkiye Summit Meeting in September, he would like to further advance Japan–Türkiye economic relations, which have significant potential for further growth and development. He added that he wished to work together with relevant counterparts on both sides to advance efforts toward the early conclusion of the ongoing negotiations on an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).
- Deputy Minister Tuzcu stated that the Turkish side has held continuous consultations with Japanese counterparts with a view to developing bilateral economic relations and expressed Türkiye’s determination to actively work to expand trade and investment with Japan. He further expressed the hope that, toward the early conclusion of an EPA, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, under the leadership of State Minister Nakasone, would take the lead in overcoming the remaining issues.
- The two sides concurred to advance bilateral relations across a wide range of areas, including economic relations.