Japan lifts travel warning against Turkey

The decision by the Japanese Foreign Ministry, which upgraded its warning against trips to Turkey after the suicide attacks in Istanbul last November that killed more than 60 people, came more than a week before a planned visit by Erdogan to Tokyo on April 11-14.

In the travel advisory that was in effect until Friday, Japanese citizens were told to defer non-essential visits to Turkey. The advisory caused a significant decline in the number of Japanese visitors to Turkish tourist spots.

"This decision will not only encourage tourist flow to Turkey but also facilitate useful exchanges of views on matters of bilateral relations and international issues concerning both countries, such as Iraq and the Palestine-Israel dispute," Solmaz Unaydin, Turkish ambassador in Tokyo, said of the lifting of the warning.

Despite opposition at home, the Japanese government has sent troops to help post-war stabilization of Iraq. Japan is a major contributor to efforts to rebuild the war-ravaged country as well and Turkey is interested in cooperation with Japan in the rebuilding projects.

Prime Minister Erdogan’s visit is expected to cover several issues including possible cooperation in Iraq and other matters of mutual concern.

Unaydin said the decision to lift the travel warning would make a good contribution to the success of the prime minister’s trip.

She also predicted there would be highly positive effects on Turkish tourism, given that the lifting of the warning came just before the opening of Turkey’s promotion campaigns in Japan.

2003 was "Turkey Year" in Japan but promotion activities undertaken in the country by Turkish Culture Ministry and other institutions on this occasion have failed to yield fruits in practice because of the travel warning issued late last year, which significantly decreased the number of tourists from Japan to Turkey.