The Turkish Embassy in Japan is located in the trendy section of Tokyo known as Harajuku. In this area, you can find many fashionable boutiques, restaurants, and galleries. The embassy building is well suited to the surroundings. That is because Kenzo tange, one of the leading Japanese contemporary architects designed the building. Glass and white marble constitute the prime elements of the building. Like many contemporary buildings, the space is simple and bright, yet elegant.
Madam Ambassador, Solmaz Unaydin, welcomed us with a warm smile. She was wearing a stylish pink suit, which suits the environment. The Ambassador told us, “I try to dress as nicely as possible.” She continued, “I believe that a woman's touch is often very important in the world of diplomacy.” Besides, the Ambassador was not only wearing a fancy suit but also all Turkish clothes which represent the famous Turkish textile and fashion industries. It is a very sleek and ingenious approach to initiate a conversation about the subject. The Ambassador was inaugurated in Japan just this past February. She is a well experienced diplomat. Prior to this assignment, she served in other ambassadorial post including Sweden and Poland , as well as in some junior posts at the Turkish Mission to the United Nations in New York.
Over the past two decades, the Turkish economy has grown significantly. Indeed, Turkey was one of the fastest growing countries among the OECD nations till two three years ago. Today, the country is a member of the G-20 group, and a candidate for full membership into the EU. In spite of this successful economic performance, the Turkish economy has lately been suffering a setback. The Ambassador stated, the IMF, the World Bank, and the United States have been very helpful to us to overcome this difficult period and at the moment, although we have not completely recovered, we are in a somewhat better situation.
The Ambassador worried about the negative economic outcome of the Iraqi War and terrorism. “It is not good for our people and economy,” she said. According to the Ambassador, thousands of Turkish citizens were killed as a result of terrorism in the past decade. Recently, almost 80 thousand Japanese tourists visit Turkey every year, but the Ambassador was worried that this figure would go down if another war broke out.
The Ambassador believes that 2003, the year of Turkey, is a great opportunity for making Turkey better understood and appreciated in Japan . She hopes that through the several cultural, social, touristic, economic, and trade actives to be held during the year, more Turkish goods could be exported to Japan while more Japanese direct investments and tourist can be attracted to Turkey. Turkey has lots to offer. The country produces exceptionally high quality products, such as textile goods and leather merchandise. The Ambassador added, "Japanese shoppers will be thrilled when they find they can buy quality products for much less than they are paying for in Japan." There are also many full-scale free-trade industrial zones to support foreign corporations.
