Kono Thanks Turkish Counterpart over Release of Journalist

November 6, 2018

Tokyo--Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono on Monday thanked his visiting Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, for Turkey's support for the recent release of a Japanese journalist detained in Syria.

"We were supported very much by Turkish government officials," Kono told a joint press conference ahead of their meeting in Tokyo.

The freelance journalist, Junpei Yasuda, was released last month after over three years of captivity and taken into protective custody in Turkey before returning to Japan.

During the meeting, Kono and Cavusoglu talked about their countries' economic cooperation and negotiations to conclude an economic partnership agreement for free trade.

They also discussed the envisioned denuclearization of North Korea and the Middle East situation including Iran. Jiji Press