Japanese investments in Turkey reach $227 mln

ISTANBUL - Anatolia News Agency

A crowd of people cross a street in the downtown Tokyo, Japan in this file photo. Japanese firms are increasingly increasing their presence in the Turkish markets. AA photo

Japanese firms have increased their investments in Turkey in the past five years, a period in which the global economic crisis reached devastating figures, an attaché with the Japanese Embassy in Turkey told Anatolia news agency.

Direct investments by Japanese companies in Turkey were worth only $2 million in 2007, and this figure had jumped to $227 million by the end of 2011, Yo Takahashi said.

“Turks and the Japanese are really very close to each other. We need to take steps so the closeness between our peoples is reflected in the economic sector,” Takahashi said.

“In recent times, our bilateral trade relations have been rapidly developing,” Takahashi said. “Japan’s leading economy newspaper, Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei), opened a representation office in Istanbul. Three giant Japanese banks are getting more and more interested in the Turkish market every day. Such facts show the development of bilateral economic relations,” Takahashi also said.

The Bank of Tokyo - Mitsubishi UFC, one of Japan’s and the world’s largest banks, applied for banking license in August. The bank may start its local activities in October 2013 if it gets regulatory approval.