The population of the Republic of Turkey is approximately 76 million (in 2013) and the total size of its area is approximately 780 thousand square kilometers, about twice as large as Japan. Turkey is located in the Anatolia Peninsula, which is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea, Aegean Sea, Marmara Sea and Black Sea, and Turkey enjoys the geographical advantage of having easy access to Europe, North Africa, Middle East, Russia and West Asia. Also, as the average age of its citizens is 30.1 years, Turkey is a very young and energetic nation. The national language is Turkish that is expressed in the Latin alphabet.

Regarding economic aspects of Turkey, the GDP per capita is USD10,815 (in 2013), which is three times greater than it was only ten years ago, and is further prospected to grow to almost USD13,000 by 2016. Thus, the recent economic growth in Turkey is remarkable.

Being attracted by its geographical advantage, abundant younger population and high level of economic growth, many foreign companies are investing in Turkey, including Japanese companies. The Foreign Direct Investment Law, which came into effect on June 17, 2003 as the Turkish fundamental law concerning investments, specifies that foreign investors have the right to be treated equally with domestic investors. Furthermore, in general all of the industries and sectors are open to foreign investors without limitation to the ratio or amount of foreign investment. Since 1997, Turkey has ranked No. 2 among the member states of OECD that promote deregulation for inbound investments.

In Turkey, while 98% of the people are Muslim, secularism, which is a policy of separation of politics and religion, has been adopted under its legal system since its foundation. Therefore, the sharia (i.e. Islamic law) is not adopted.

In cooperation with local law firms, we have been engaged in several matters such as establishment of local subsidiaries, M&A and other general law services in Turkey.