The 587 Turkish soldiers who lost their lives on the Ertuğrul Frigate, which sank in a storm off the coast of Japan 134 years ago, were commemorated in a ceremony held in Kushimoto, where the accident occurred. The ceremony, attended by Turkish ambassadors in Japan and Kushimoto Mayor Tashima Katsumasa, began with the national anthem and a wreaths were laid at the martyrs’ monument.
Japan’s aid to to the 69 Ottoman soldiers who survived the accident played an important role in the development of Turkish-Japanese relations.