Japanese foreign minister to visit Turkey

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono is to visit Turkey on Dec 28.

His arrival will be the first since his appointment in August and follows an invitation from Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

According to the ministry, the two ministers will address political, economic and cultural ties as well as regional and international issues.

Last month, Turkey said it was to plant a forest to mark its close relationship with Japan.

Turkey opened its embassy in Japan in 1925 and since then links between the nations have risen to a "strategic partnership", according to the Foreign Ministry website.

A bond was formed during the Ottoman era when the frigate Ertuğrul sank off the coast of Japan as it returned from a goodwill visit in 1890.

Nearly 600 lost their lives but Japan's rescue effort and the support shown to survivors sealed friendly ties between the peoples of both countries.

A French-Japanese consortium is involved in plans to build a nuclear power plant near Sinop on the Black Sea coast.