The Turkish president’s neo-nationalist and militant ally, the Perinçek group, has formed an alliance with the Japanese far-right ethnic organization Issuikai as part of a global coalition campaigning against the United States and its Western allies, according to an investigation by Nordic Monitor.
Both groups use their respective publications in Turkey and Japan to disseminate their views to a wider audience, shape anti-American narratives in public discourse and promote perspectives aligned with Russia, China and Iran.
The Perinçek group, also known as Aydınlık, is led by obscure politician Doğu Perinçek, who has been indicted multiple times in Turkey for various criminal activities, including terrorism, and has served prison sentences. In the last decade he has closely aligned with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government, aiding in the mass purge of senior NATO officers from the alliance’s second-largest army through false flag operations and sham trials.
Perinçek has developed ties with the Japanese far-right group Issuikai and its leader, Kimura Mitsuhiro, participating in meetings, some of which were arranged by Russia. In their most recent meeting on May 29, Perinçek said, “Today, the biggest truth about Turkey is that NATO-affiliated generals are in Turkish prisons.”
With the help of the Perinçek group, the Erdogan government has dismissed thousands of officers from the military, including two-thirds of all generals and admirals, using a false flag failed coup in 2016 as a pretext. The entire staff of officers, who had been the backbone for the execution of military strategies and operations, were removed and/or jailed in Turkey because they either served in NATO facilities in the past or were proponents of the transatlantic alliance.
Stating that Turkey has begun to disengage from NATO, Perinçek warned in his published remarks that this paradigm shift is not an easy process, predicting that the transformation will be completed with a revolution. “Our nationalist and patriotic brothers in Japan should know that revolutionary solutions lie ahead for Turkey in the next three to five years,” he said.
The Perinçek group has been actively collaborating with pro-Iranian networks in Turkey to revoke base access rights for the US and NATO allies, carrying out violent attacks on visiting US troops and even breaching military bases where US troops are stationed.
Mitsuhiro informed Perinçek that his group has also been working to remove US troops from Japan, saying, [T]he foremost issue we must consider when discussing the conditions in Japan is that our country hosts over 130 US bases and 7,212 related facilities. ... We are working day and night to break American dominance in our country.”
Perinçek said Turkey is engaged in a conflict against the US and Israel, forming alliances with Russia and China to counter the increasing American presence in Greece and Syria, where the US has established military bases.
Mitsuhiro expressed total agreement with Perinçek in opposing US dominance anywhere in the world, reaffirming that his group, Issuikai, aligned with Russia in the Ukrainian conflict and advocates for Japan to develop closer ties with China. “In this regard, Mr. Perinçek, within the global front you mentioned, we stand on the same side as you in West Asia and us in East Asia,” Mitsuhiro said.
The Perinçek and Issuikai groups were brought together with the assistance of Russia, which organized global conferences aimed at uniting like-minded, anti-US/anti-West groups. In April 2023 they were among the participants of the Global Conference on Multipolarity, which featured Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as a keynote speaker. The two groups convened online on September 12, 2023, pledging to collaborate in undermining the US-led global alliance.
Both groups utilize their propaganda publications in their respective countries to disseminate their messages to a broader audience, construct an anti-American narrative and advocate for policy changes in the government aimed at disengaging from the Western alliance system. Issuikai was frequently featured in Perinçek’s propaganda publications such as the Teori magazine and the Aydınlık daily. Interviews with Mitsuhiro and translations of his speeches were published and promoted in Turkey.
Issuikai reciprocated by publishing Perinçek’s translated comments and speeches in its monthly publication, Reconquista.
A Nordic Monitor investigation reveals that the activities of the Turkish militant group in Japan were conducted by Perinçek’s operative, İnan Öner, who has been closely collaborating with Issuikai for some time. Öner attended Issuikai meetings and delivered speeches to the group’s followers. His interview with Mitsuhiro was published in Teori in June 2023.
Seval Yurtçiçek Özaydın, whose late father Bayram Yurtçiçek was a key member in management of the Vatan (Homeland) Party, the political arm of the Perinçek group, is another operative who promotes the views of the far-right, neo-nationalist Turkish group in Japan. She previously worked for Ulusal Kanal, the group’s TV station, before relocating to Japan for studies. Currently serving as a research fellow at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, she contributes to the group’s mouthpiece, the Aydınlık newspaper.
The Perinçek group collaborates with United World International (UWI), a Russian-backed propaganda organization that was run by the late Yevgeniy Prigozhin, who was sanctioned multiple times by the US and Canada and their European allies for influence operations in North America and Europe. UWI operates in Turkey under the umbrella of İletişim Gönüllüleri Ve Görevlileri Vakfı (Görev Vakfı), a foundation owned by the Perinçek group.
The Görev foundation was sanctioned by the UK in July 2022 because of its connections to the UWI, which the UK said had been involved in supporting or promoting policies or actions that destabilize Ukraine or undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty or independence of Ukraine.
Tübamer Sosyal Araştirma ve Danişmanlik A.Ş., claiming to be a research and consulting company registered in the media and communications sector, was another entity owned by the Perinçek group. It was established in Istanbul toward the end of 2021 by the group for the specific purpose of waging a disinformation campaign. The personal profiles and the content generated on the websites of both UWI and Tübamer are strikingly similar, and they both operate from Turkey.
The Perinçek group’s youth arm, the Turkish Youth Union (Türkiye Gençlik Birliği in Turkish, or TGB), known for its violence, operates with impunity in Turkey. The TGB has been involved in attacks on NATO bases and US troops in Turkey and has faced multiple criminal investigations. However, it has managed to evade legal consequences due to the influence of its leader, Doğu Perinçek, and his ties to Erdogan.
Now, the group is endeavoring to establish a foothold and broaden its influence in Japan, where it has discovered a receptive partner in the far-right platform. The group utilizes operatives who reside in Japan under the pretext of academic studies and literary work.
