Sympathy without knowledge can pose a problem: the Japan-Turkey case

“We don’t have any problems; I think the problem is that we don’t have any problems. Since we don’t have problems, there is not much interest from either side in exploring further or exploring in depth what is going on or what the people are like. That exactly is the case,” Ambassador Tanaka said in an interview with Today’s Zaman.

“Having said that, however, there is a very big reservoir of goodwill on both sides for each other,” Tanaka added, explaining how he has been warmly welcomed by people wherever he goes in Turkey. “That’s the essence. The reason for this reservoir of goodwill is the fact that we are not neighbors so we haven’t fought wars. Thus, there are no bad feelings, so we don’t have problems.” Tanaka went on to underline the historical aspect of the traditionally good relations between the two countries situated on the western and eastern ends of the old Silk Road.

“Actually, next year is the 120th anniversary of the Ertuğrul frigate incident, and we have turned this tragedy into the basis for good cooperation years later,” Tanaka said.

The Ottoman frigate Ertuğrul sank off the coast of Wakayama on Sept. 16, 1890. On the orders of the Japanese emperor, the surviving 69 of an original 600-strong crew were sent back to İstanbul in two Japanese navy vessels. From this tragedy was born mutual understanding and friendly relations between the two nations that continue to the present day. Following the founding of modern Turkey, diplomatic relations were established in 1924, and Turkey and Japan opened embassies in Tokyo and Ankara, respectively, in 1925.

Remarks by Tanaka, who has been representing Japan in Ankara since November 2007, on the opportunities for better relations, were referring to the fact that next year has been declared as the year of Japan in Turkey. The slogan for “Japan Year 2010 in Turkey” will be “Turkey and Japan are closer now,” reflecting the mutual desire to reinforce the existing friendship between the two countries.

“Following World War II, Japan gradually revived from the ashes, and Turks also wondered how Japan caught up so quickly with the West in terms of economic development, including technological development, and seemingly keeping its own culture,” Tanaka said. When asked why he particularly used the word “seemingly,” he replied: “Seemingly because you don’t know much, you only look at it from the outside and through the [news] reports. Yes, you assume, you’ve heard a lot about Japanese culture, which started to invade the West with sushi and so on. Because that’s precisely what Turkey would like to achieve because you have your own culture and you want to modernize your country. This has always been the will of the Turkish people since the end of the Ottoman Empire and exactly what [founder of the Turkish Republic Mustafa Kemal] Atatürk wanted to do. Japan has similar ideas. That’s why Turkey is very receptive to Japan. We very much appreciate that. We share whatever we can with Turkey.”

Sharing life through greenfield investments

Recalling that the Japanese economy was “riding high” in the early 1990s, the ambassador said Turkish entrepreneurs were at the time quick to explore opportunities in his country, while some big Japanese companies came to Turkey to invest.

“At that time, we had surplus capital, they were more than happy to invest overseas, so Japanese companies came here. But since then, we went through the lost decade of 1990s, and then this century -- we’re struggling to recover. So we didn’t have much money to invest overseas. We became very cautious and prudent in doing so. We’ve been very selective in choosing where to invest; we compare the comparative advantages of these places, and once we’re convinced, then we do it,” Tanaka said. He added, however, that the Turkish entrepreneurial approach in general was totally different from what it had been like in Japan -- another area in which the two sides know little about each other.

Appreciating the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) economy policies in recent years, Tanaka remarked that as a result of those policies as well as a result of Turkey’s customs union agreement with the European Union, Turkey has become an industrial base for the EU, with the economy starting to revive.

“The Turkish economy has started to revive in this century thanks to the AK Party’s enlightened economic policy. They are absolutely right in pursuing this path, and I really hope that they’ll do so in the future and accelerate this process,” he said, while expressing a lack of satisfaction with the current level of economic and commercial relations between Japan and Turkey.

Tourism, according to the ambassador, is the key field on which Japan and Turkey should focus for improving their relationship in various aspects.

“Tourism is good because ordinary people are coming. Nonetheless, not only ordinary people but also many senior retired people who are basically interested in culture and history and who are in a good position to advise both people and companies are coming. They are discovering the country and talking about it to company executives. That’s very important because Turkey is not known to the Japanese people. We don’t know anything about Turkey. We know where Turkey is, we know Atatürk, and we know the Ottoman Empire. But it doesn’t mean that they know Turkey, what kind of characteristics Turkish people have, whether they are similar to the Japanese and so on. They don’t have any idea about the climate, either,” Tanaka said.

Again putting the emphasis on the Japanese approach and tendencies in relations, he explained: “When it comes to business, trade and investment abroad, we want to know the land and the people; we do not like portfolio investments. Western companies are quick to come and quick to go, because that’s easy, ‘If the economy is not good, let’s sell the shares and run.’ But Japanese investment is greenfield investment, totally different. We’re more into this community. We buy land, establish factories, employ people, train those people and start to produce materials, we spend a real life here. So even though the economy is down, we’re not running away, we share the life -- misery or pleasure -- together with the Turkish people. It’s good because our mentality has come along very well. At times, in the beginning, it didn’t work too well, but over time, we have started to learn about each other.”

He added that he has been noticing some good signs from the Japanese side in regards to making more investments in Turkey, particularly after Turkey proved its strength in the recent global financial crisis: “This is a recent change, and I’m glad that we have picked up on some change for the better.”

Real Asia

Tanaka believes the world’s center of gravity is shifting and that East Asia is the rising star of the 21st century. Yet, he also believes that Turkey’s perspective of Asia stops at Central Asia.

“But it’s not Asia. The real Asia is East Asia and South Asia.”

In May 2008, President Abdullah Gül became the first ever Turkish president to pay an official visit to Japan. This visit has displayed Gül’s foresight, said Tanaka.

“He is one of the leading personalities in this country to recognize the importance of East Asia. We very much hope that his vision is shared by others. I think we need to examine our ties and we have to learn about each other; that’s why we planned ‘Japan Year 2010 in Turkey’ next year in order to arouse the interest of Turkish people toward Japan.”

With intensity in bilateral activities, a visit from Japan to Turkey by a member of the imperial family as well as visits by the prime minister and business leaders expected to take place next year, more than 60 cultural events including fashion shows and music concerts are planned as part of the “Japan Year 2010 in Turkey.”

Three items have been chosen as the primary objectives of the Japan year, with Japan expecting substantial participation from the Turkish side in achieving those objectives. They are: to introduce the beauty of Japan, to enhance friendship and to carry on bilateral cooperation into the future. “I hope these activities will expose many aspects of Japan to the Turkish people so that Turkish people can be familiar with what modern Japan is about.”