ISTANBUL

Japan would like to broaden its relations with Türkiye and engage in joint projects with it in third countries, its ambassador said Thursday.

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and the Republic of Türkiye, Katsumata Takahiko told Anadolu that Japanese state companies realized many infrastructure projects in Türkiye in the 1980s and 1990s.

He noted that these firms built hydroelectric power plants, bridges and the Marmaray tunnel – an undersea railway tunnel linking Europe and Asia through the Bosphorus.

Takahiko said Türkiye and Turkmenistan have a very large natural gas project together and that in the Caucasus, Türkiye’s Calik Enerji and Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation have energy projects in Georgia.

At the same time, Japan has joint goals with Türkiye in African countries. Economic relations between the two countries can jump to the next dimension and the working area with Türkiye is gradually expanding.

Highlighting that bilateral trade between Japan and Türkiye amounts to $6 billion, Katsumata said that Japanese firms are carrying out construction work in Ukraine and can do many infrastructure projects together with Türkiye in Africa.

*Writing by Gokhan Ergocun