President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan received Japan's Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on Friday.

Erdoğan's reception of Motegi at the Vahdettin Mansion was closed to the press. Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu also attended the reception.

Motegi's visit comes as a part of Motegi's regional tour, including visits to Turkey, Egypt, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Palestine and Qatar, from Aug. 15-24.

"The peace and stability of the Middle East region are extremely important for the international community including Japan," he told a news conference in the capital Tokyo, which was also broadcast online last week.

Turkey and Japan are close allies and enjoy strong bilateral ties. The friendship dates back to the Ottoman era.

Diplomatic relations 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.