The friendship between Türkiye and Japan dates back to the late 19th century. The Ottoman Frigate “Ertuğrul” was on a goodwill voyage to Japan in 1890, having taken the honors and gifts from Sultan Abdulhamit II to Emperor Meiji. On her return trip, she encountered a typhoon, subsequently drifted into a reef and sank off the rocky coast of Kushimoto, Wakayama Prefecture. The shipwreck resulted in the loss of approximately six hundred sailors and officers. Assistance given by the Japanese Government and the local people to the survivors laid a foundation stone for the friendship between the two countries.

Furthermore, at the height of Iran-Iraq War, the Turkish authorities responded positively to Japan’s request for help in evacuating Japanese citizens from Tehran. Turkish Airlines took Japanese citizens safely back to Japan. This evacuation was another foundation stone in Turkish-Japanese relations.

Diplomatic relations between Türkiye and Japan began in 1924 and the first Turkish mission in Japan was established in 1925.

Political relations were upgraded to the level of "Strategic Partnership" in 2013 and keep developing rapidly ever since through high-level visits.

President Erdoğan visited Japan to participate in the G-20 Osaka Summit held between 27 June-1 July 2019.

Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu paid a bilateral visit to Japan on 4-6 November 2018 and participated in the G-20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Nagoya on 22-23 November 2019. Minister Çavuşoğlu also opened the Turkish Consulate-General in Nagoya during this visit.

Former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan Toshimitsu Motegi visited Türkiye on 20 August 2021.

In 2019, Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu was awarded with Grand Cordon of the Order of Rising Sun due to his contributions to bilateral relations and friendship between Türkiye and Japan.

In order to enhance bilateral relations and further strengthen the ties between the two peoples, special events were organized in the past. In this context, the year 2003 was celebrated as the “Turkish Year in Japan”, 2010 as the “Japan Year in Türkiye”, and 2019 as the “Turkish Culture Year in Japan”.