Japan to Host First-Ever Summit With Central Asia in Tokyo

Japan is preparing to hold its first summit with the five Central Asian republics, with talks likely to take place in Tokyo as early as mid December, NHK reports.

Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan have maintained ministerial dialogue with Japan for more than two decades, yet their first leaders’ meeting has never materialised.

A summit had originally been planned in Kazakhstan in August last year, but it was abruptly cancelled after Japan issued an advisory about the risk of a major earthquake.

The five nations, all former Soviet republics, retain close relations with Russia while also seeing rising engagement from China. Against this backdrop, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi aims to use the upcoming summit to strengthen ties with these resource-rich partners.

Tokyo wants to bolster economic security and broaden cooperation across areas that include decarbonisation technologies and major infrastructure projects.