Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, with a total area of about 44.57 million square kilometers and a population of about 4.2 billion. Asia is a vast country with many countries, but some Asian countries do not want to integrate into Asia, but want to join Europe.
As early as the end of the 19th century, Japan put forward the idea of "breaking away from Asia and joining Europe." Yukichi Fukuzawa is a famous thinker in modern Japan, known as one of the founders of Japan's modernization, Yukichi Fukuzawa was the first to shout the slogan of "leaving Asia and joining Europe", so Japan can be called the first country to break away from Asia and join Europe. However, with the development of history, countries have emerged that want to break away from Asia and join Europe. So what's going on?
First, Japan. Japan's proposal to "break away from Asia and join Europe" began during the Meiji Restoration. At the beginning of the Meiji Restoration, Japan was only a backward agricultural country, and in 1853, Commodore Perry of the United States Navy led a fleet into the waters of Uraga in Edo Bay, Japan.
Under the threat of force from the United States, Japan finally chose to compromise and signed the "Japan-US Goodwill Treaty" with the United States, opened a number of treaty ports, and granted the United States the most-favored-nation status. The powerful navy of the United States made Japan realize its backwardness, and in 1868, Japan began the Meiji Restoration.
The main purpose of the Meiji Restoration was to learn from Europe. European countries were the first to embark on the road of seafaring, and through seafaring, they grabbed vast colonies in the world. Europe was also the first region to start the industrial revolution, leading the world in terms of science and technology.
Therefore, at that time, Japan put forward the policy of breaking away from Asia and joining Europe, and completely westernizing. After that, Japan introduced advanced Western technology, and on the eve of the First Sino-Japanese War, Japan completed the first industrial revolution. After the end of the First Sino-Japanese War, Japan received 200 million taels of silver from the Qing Dynasty and imported a large number of advanced machines from Europe. After the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, Japan defeated Tsarist Russia and gradually became a world power. It can be said that Japan's proposal to break away from Asia and join Europe has promoted Japan's development.
Second, Turkey. Turkey is a country that straddles two continents, Asia and Europe, but most of its territory is located on the Asia Minor Peninsula in Asia, and the capital Ankara is also located in Asia. Geographically, Turkey belongs to Asian countries, but Turkey does not want to integrate into Asia, but has always wanted to join Europe.
For example, in sports, Turkey does not participate in the Asian Games, and in football, Turkey belongs to the UEFA and does not participate in Asian competitions. Turkey wants to integrate into Europe and has certain advantages. Geographically, for example, Turkey belongs to the Near East and has a part of European territory.
Turkey's European territory is located in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula with an area of about 24,000 square kilometers, and Istanbul, Turkey's largest city, is located in the European part.
In terms of strategy, Turkey holds the Turkish Straits, which connect the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, and are known as the throat of the world. Based on these advantages, the West needed to woo Turkey, so back in 1952, Turkey joined NATO.
But NATO is a military organization, and in order to truly integrate into Europe, Turkey has always wanted to join the EU. The EU is an economic organization composed of many developed countries in Europe, and joining the EU can receive economic assistance from the EU, which is a direct benefit. Therefore, Turkey has always wanted to join Europe, mainly to obtain benefits and promote the development of the country. But helplessly, after years of application, Turkey only got the status of an EU candidate country.
Thirdly, the three countries of the South Caucasus. The three countries of the South Caucasus include Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. These three countries are located in the southern part of the Greater Caucasus Mountains and are geographically completely part of the Asian countries, without territories located in Europe. But these three countries have also been trying to join Europe, and in terms of sports, three countries have achieved European accession, not in Asian competitions, but in European competitions.
The three countries of the South Caucasus also have the advantage of joining Europe, for example, geographically, three countries are close to Europe. In Soviet times, three countries were part of the USSR, and the main territory of the USSR was located in Europe. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the three countries participated in many European organizations, such as the European Air Traffic Control Agency. These organizations have no economic aspect, and in order to obtain economic benefits, the three countries of the South Caucasus are also trying to join the European Union. However, Turkey has begun to apply for EU membership as early as the 80s of the last century, and the three countries of the South Caucasus are still ranked behind Turkey, and they have not been granted the status of EU candidate countries, so the chances are even slimmer.
In general, Asian countries want to join Europe, mainly because Europe is a developed region with strong economic and technological strength. In order to get the economic benefits and advanced technology of Europe and promote their own development, they want to join Europe.