Turkey's Defense Industry Agency Chief Haluk Görgün held strategic discussions in Tokyo and Kobe aimed at advancing defense industry cooperation between the two countries. Görgün met with Japan's Defense Minister, commanders of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, and officials from the Japan Defense Equipment and Technology Agency (ATLA). During his visit, Görgün inspected the KHI Kobe Works facility in Kobe and the NEC Fuchu facility in Tokyo, evaluating opportunities for cooperation in advanced manufacturing technologies, electronic systems, and communications infrastructure.

Relations between Turkey and Japan are rooted in mutual respect, trust, and longstanding friendship, according to statements from the Defense Industry Agency. Görgün emphasized that bilateral relations have evolved into a broader cooperation framework based on historical friendship and strategic partnership. He stated that defense industry cooperation would be strengthened through long-term and institutional partnerships aligned with this understanding. Görgün expressed the goal of transforming Turkey-Japan strategic partnership into concrete defense industry collaborations based on advanced technology, quality, trust, and mutual benefit.

Japan's engineering expertise, quality standards, and technological culture offer significant complementarity to Turkey's innovative defense industry ecosystem. Görgün noted a strong synergy potential between Japan's high-technology production capabilities and Turkey's agile, innovative defense industry experience proven in the field. The discussions aimed to translate this potential into concrete initiatives in research and development, supply chain cooperation, systems integration, and advanced technology. Meetings with ATLA, KHI, and NEC provided opportunities to evaluate mutual capabilities more closely.

Turkish defense industry has achieved significant success in recent years in unmanned aerial vehicles, missile systems, and naval platforms. Companies such as ROKETSAN, TUSAŞ, ASELSAN, and Baykar deliver recognized products to international markets. Cooperation with Japan, particularly in advanced electronic systems, sensor technologies, and systems integration, could strengthen Turkey's defense industry ecosystem. When Japan's precision engineering and quality control standards combine with Turkey's rapid innovation and field-proven platform development capabilities, they can provide competitive advantages in regional and global markets.

International defense industry cooperation is critical for technology transfer and increasing localization rates. Turkey has established strategic objectives in NATO-standard product development and exports. Partnership with a technologically advanced nation like Japan could enhance the research and development capacity of Turkish defense companies and raise localization percentages. Görgün stated the goal of establishing a sustainable, trust-based cooperation framework between the two countries' industrial and technology institutions that generates mutual benefits. This cooperation represents an important step in both nations' defense industry vision.