About
MA student in Asian Studies with a Japan major at Boğaziçi University and researcher of Japan’s (post-war) cultural diplomacy. Fluent in Turkish, English, and French. Passed the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test N3 in July 2021. Currently pursuing JLPT-N2 and learning German. Interested in Japan’s cultural and public diplomacy, identity (re)construction, cultural persuasion, soft power, intercultural communication, UNESCO World Heritage Conservation, Cool Japan, and the role of memory, culture, and identity in Japan’s international relations and foreign policy.
Interpreter by training and researcher by choice with 2+ years of experience. Performed academic work as the Assistant Coordinator at the Asian Studies Center of Boğaziçi University by serving as the assistant of Emeritus Professor Selçuk Esenbel and Project Coordinator at the Japanese Studies Association (JAD) in Istanbul. Now contributor to Asia Power Watch based in Paris, France, Supervisory Board Member at JAD, and producer and host of Global Podcast: Japan Series, a podcast on Japanese politics.
Publications:
• Bunka Gaikō (Japan’s Cultural Diplomacy): Re-constructing Japanese Identity in France and Turkey (1952-1989)
• Japanese Cultural Diplomacy: A Multi-Layered and Multi-actor Instrument in Japan’s Foreign Policy | Asia Anew Initiative, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey
• Railroads of the Glorious Empires in the late 19th Century: From the Great Game to the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 | Global Perspectives on Japan
• Power Struggle in the Rising Continent of Africa: The Role of Turkey in the Chinese-Japanese Competition in African Investments | IISIA Monthly Report & Asia Power Watch
• ‘Pax Japonica’ through Culture and Economy: Başakşehir Çam and Sakura City Hospital as a Restorative Investment | IISIA Monthly Report
• The future of Abenomics in a post-Shinzo Abe Japan | Asia Power Watch
• The South China Sea dispute and its challenges to Japan’s economic interests | Asia Power Watch
• Istanbul’s Başakşehir Çam and Sakura City Hospital: an opportunity for Japan to reaffirm its economic power strategy | Asia Power Watch
• Interpreting in Japan: History, Profession, Current Trends, and Developments
Interviews:
• Yükselen Asya on Ekotürk TV
• Sonsuz Asya: Semiha Karaoğlu ile Japonya Çalışmaları for Project Arché. Education
Boğaziçi University, MA, Asian Studies (2019 – 2022)
• Japan Studies Major with a Specialization in Japanese Language (GPA: 4,00)
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Turkey, Asia Anew Online Certificate Programme (2022)
Sainsbury Institute (SISJAC) of the University of East Anglia, Online Summer Programme (2020 – 2021)
Shanghai University, Chinese Bridge Summer Camp on Chinese Language and Culture (2018)
Saint Louis University – Brussels, Erasmus+ Mobility Programme, Translation and Interpreting (2017)
Boğaziçi University, BA, Translation and Interpreting Studies (2013 – 2019)
• Specialization in Conference Interpreting (GPA: 3,74) Work Shared in CORE
Articles
Dissertations
Translations
Presentations
Other Publications
• Railroads of the Glorious Empires in the late 19th Century: From the Great Game to the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 | Global Perspectives on Japan: Volume IV
• Power Struggle in the Rising Continent of Africa: The Role of Turkey in the Chinese-Japanese Competition in African Investments | IISIA Monthly Report & Asia Power Watch
• ‘Pax Japonica’ through Culture and Economy: Başakşehir Çam and Sakura City Hospital as a Restorative Investment | IISIA Monthly Report
• The future of Abenomics in a post-Shinzo Abe Japan | Asia Power Watch
• The South China Sea dispute and its challenges to Japan’s economic interests | Asia Power Watch
• Istanbul’s Başakşehir Çam and Sakura City Hospital: an opportunity for Japan to reaffirm its economic power strategy | Asia Power Watch
Interviewed on Yükselen Asya (Rising Asia) on Ekotürk TV and Sonsuz Asya: Semiha Karaoğlu ile Japonya Çalışmaları for Project Arché. Projects
Global Podcast: Japonya Serisi (Japan Series)
Host of the weekly podcast discussing Japanese politics and news analyses on Japan streaming on Spreaker and Spotify. Launch date: January 3, 2022.
日本トルコ学生会議（Japan-Turkey Student Conference)
Japan-Turkey Student Conference is an organization established for the purpose of deepening mutual understanding and friendship between the youth of Japan and Turkey by establishing more resolute cultural bonds.
Traditional Japanese Literature: An Anthology, Beginnings to 1600 – Haruo Shirane
Translation project for the anthology ‘Traditional Japanese Literature: An Anthology, Beginnings to 1600’ edited by Haruo Shirane.
Interpreting in Japan: History, Profession, Current Trends, and Developments
The present research project aims to investigate the profession of conference interpreting in Japan. The first section furnishes a summary of the Japanese language and also studies how the geography of Japan reshapes Japan’s monolingual and monocultural landscape. The research project also reveals the history of interpreting, educational institutions related to conference interpreter training, and current trends in the interpreting profession, along with associations and organizations of conference interpreters in Japan. Moreover, the research conducted for this project unveils the current situation of interpreting in Japan and reviews whether it is a fully established profession as it is in the European Union—whose institutions have one of the most comprehensive interpreting services in the world (Introduction to Interpretation 2019). Ultimately, the research project examines universities, prevailing trends, and advancements associated with conference interpreting and both their positive and negative impacts on the profession itself.
Turkish Workshops
Workshops with Dr. Bülent Aksoy within the body of Boğaziçi University Translation Club to draw attention to the importance of the Turkish language to become more qualified and competitive translators and interpreters. We especially worked on idioms, fixed expressions, false friends, and words-phrases derived from the French language. Memberships
Japanese Studies Association (JAD)
Bringing Europeans Together Association (BETA) France
Japan-Turkey Student Conference (日本トルコ学生日本トルコ学生会議)
Boğaziçi University Chinese Language and Culture Society (BU中)
Boğaziçi University Translation Club
