Japanese min. pays visit to Turkey after coup bid

ANKARA

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim received Japanese Science and Technology Minister Yosuke Tsuruho on Thursday at the Cankaya Palace in Ankara, according to prime ministry sources.

Tsuruho paid a visit to Ankara to show the Japanese government's solidarity with Turkey after the July 15 defeated coup, said the sources, speaking on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Yildirim thanked Tsuruho for Japan’s support in the wake of the foiled coup, the sources added.

The Turkish government says U.S.-based Fetullah Gulen organized the July 15 coup attempt, which left 240 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania since 1997, is also accused of running a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary, forming what is commonly known as the parallel state.

A cooperation protocol was also signed between the two countries.

Ahead of the signing ceremony, Turkey's Transport Minister Ahmet Arslan told reporters that the aim of the cooperation is to share Japanese technological know-how with Turkish institutions.

*Reporting by Arife Yildiz Unal and Mumin Altas; Writing by Fatma Bulbul