Turkish deputy PM meets Japanese welfare minister

By Tevfik Durul

TOKYO (AA) - Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Recep Akdag on Thursday met Japanese Health, Labour and Welfare Minister Katsunobu Kato in Tokyo.

During the meeting, Akdag emphasized the importance of cooperation in mutual sharing of experiences in the fields of disaster management and emergency aid.

A five-year action plan of cooperation with Japan on disaster management was on the agenda, while it was pointed out that joint operations could be carried out with third parties in the field.

Akdag also pointed to one fifth of Japan’s population being over 65 years old and said Turkey could support manpower in Japan by employing skilled Turkish laborers.

Kato, for his part, said he wanted the existing good relations with Turkey to move even further.

The ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party’s lawmaker Taner Yildiz, Turkey’s ambassador to Tokyo Hasan Murat Mercan and the head of Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Agency Mehmet Gulluoglu accompanied Akdag in the meeting.