Japan’s engagements with the Central Asian Republics (CARs) have intensified recently. The Central Asia Plus Japan Dialogue(CAJD) primarily took place at the level of Foreign Ministers. It was raised to the level of a Heads of Government Meeting in 2024, which was abruptly cancelled due to a significant earthquake warning.
In the post-Soviet Union disintegration, Japan started its diplomatic ties with the CARs. Since then, the latter has taken several steps to enhance the regional partnerships. It started offering the funding, grants in aids, and technical support for the regional infrastructure projects, including transportation systems, energy programs, and enhancements in connectivity.
An Assessment of Japan-Central Asia Relations
Japan has been one of the proactive countries in recent years regarding enhancing political and economic ties with the CARs. Nevertheless, Tokyo’s geopolitical engagements have garnered less focus than those of other countries. In 1996, Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto introduced the initial initiative to engage with Central Asia by situating it within the broader Eurasian context following the Soviet Union’s dissolution.
This initiative has significantly evolved into the Silk Road Action Plan. It has outlined the three primary areas of focus for engagements with CARs: enhancing political dialogue, offering support for economic and natural resources development, and collaborating on promoting democratisation and stability in the region.
Japan’s interests in Central Asia has been deepened by the Central Asia plus Japan Dialogue(CAJD), which was initiated in 2004. Japan has consistently indicated that its goal through the CAJD is to act as a catalyst for regional integration, aspiring to facilitate collaboration among the Central Asian countries. Notably, Turkmenistan, while maintaining its stance of neutrality, opted to take part in the Central Asia Plus Japan meetings as an observer.
Tokyo has projected that its approach to Central Asia will be motivated more by a desire for trust-building diplomacy rather than by immediate economic benefits. Over time, this has led to Japan being viewed not as an adversarial hegemon but as a collaborator contributing to the region’s human capital, infrastructure, and governance, promoting autonomy instead of dependency.
Geopolitical elements also influence the dynamics between Japan and Central Asia. Enhancing Japan’s footprint in the region is crucial for balancing the overwhelming influence of Russia and China by advancing diplomatic ties necessary for nurturing economic and human relations.
Education Diplomacy Towards Central Asia Relations
For more than thirty years, Japan has fostered a unique partnership with the Central Asian nations, based not solely on geopolitics or overarching strategy, but on human connections. Education has become one of the key foundations of this alliance, as more young individuals from the Central Asian countries seek academic training and professional skills in Japan. Tokyo’s commitment to scholarships and university exchange initiatives have illustrated a long-term strategy to invest in relations that would enhance mutual understanding and nurture a new generation of leaders across the region. A notable few of the educational diplomatic efforts have been taken by Japan.
The Monbukagakusho (MEXT) Scholarships are being provided by the Japanese government to support the international students, including those from CARs, enrolled in higher education institutions in Japan. Since its inception in 1954, the MEXT Scholarship has demonstrated the Japanese government’s firm conviction to foster global academic collaboration. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has been promoting the human resource development through technical assistance and educational initiatives.
The JDS program encourages the growth of human resources by offering full scholarships for graduate studies at leading Japanese universities to the emerging leaders from Central Asian countries. Under the JDS scheme, by the end of 2022, Japan had hosted about 12,100 trainees from nations in Central Asia and the Caucasus, while sending roughly 3,000 experts to these countries to aid in human resources development efforts. Moreover, Japan has played a significant role for developing the human resources in the region and nation-building through programs like the Project for Human Resource Development Scholarship. This programme enabled the young government officials along with students to pursue studies in Japan.
The bilateral agreements allow graduates from Central Asian countries to enrol in courses related to public policy, business, and engineering, in addition to facilitating exchanges of visiting faculty and collaborative research projects with institutions in Central Asia. Student exchange programme has been playing a significant role in fostering friendship and understanding between countries, facilitating internationalisation of Japanese higher education institutions and developing human resources crucial for the future of emerging nations. With this objective, Japan has been actively supporting the student exchange initiatives by inviting international students from across the globe to study in Japan and promoting opportunities for Japanese youth to study overseas.
During Prime Minister Koizumi’s visit to Uzbekistan in 2006, Japan pledged to increase educational support by increasing the number of Uzbek students attending Japanese universities. In conjunction with specific Japanese educational institutions concentrating on Central Asia, the Japanese government established Japan Centres for Human Development and funded Japanese Studies Departments throughout Central Asia to promote Japanese culture and train a future generation of policy-makers and practitioners friendly towards Japan.
Furthermore, the initiatives under the Central Asia Plus Japan Forum 2004 aimed to educate 1,000 students and professionals from Central Asia at Japanese educational institutions. This effort is also linked to the broader goal of fostering democratisation, human development, and various reforms in the CARs by providing education and engaging younger generations of policy-makers. The primary functions of these centres consist of teaching languages, sharing Japanese culture, and providing vocational training.
The Japanese Language Education has played a critical role in enhancing the global understanding of Japan, and establishing foundations for friendship with different nations. To promote the Japanese language internationally, the MOFA started collaborating with the Japan Foundation (JF). Through JF, the Ministry sends specialists in Japanese language education, invites Japanese instructors from abroad for training programs in Japan, and creates educational materials for learning Japanese.
Additionally, through the MOFA and JF, the JF Nihongo Network, was instituted, commonly called the Sakura Network. Now, it is a global platform connecting key Japanese language institutions and teacher associations to facilitate the effective spread of the Japanese language.
On November 12, 2022, a webinar was held to celebrate the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Japan and the Central Asian countries, as part of the Central Asia plus Japan Dialogue, with collaboration -the University of Sacred Heart. This seminar has critically analysed and examined the present circumstances and future possibilities of women’s education in Central Asia and its neighbouring regions.
On March 14, 2025, the 13th Tokyo Dialogue of the Central Asia Plus Japan Dialogue, focusing on the theme ‘Geographical Outlook for Central Asia’, was conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Global Forum of Japan, and the Japan Forum on International Relations. The Tokyo Dialogue focussed to strengthen the cooperation between Japan and CARs through an open symposium highlighting the contributions from experts and practitioners. In this event, the officials and specialists from both Japan and CARs have participated and shared their insights on the geographical context of the Central Asian region.
Challenges and Future Prospects
Japan’s engagements with the region and have created prospects for the strategic alliances, and cultural interactions. In its survey conducted in 2005, by the University of Tokyo’s Asia Barometer Project, it was reported that the general public perception in countries like Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, have ranked Japan as the second most significant contributor to their national development, following only Russia.
Concurrently, Japan was also recognised as the top contributing countries among Russia, China, and South Korea in Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan. Japan has sustained its human resources building efforts to build mutual understanding and effectively has strengthened its soft power across the CARs.
However, China and Russian influence can impact CAR’s attempts to strengthen its relations with Japan. China has been emerged as a strong partner in terms of investments and trade in the region, solidifying its position as the primary economic partner. Similarly, given its geographical proximity and historical and security associations with Russia, the CARs often prioritise their connections with it. This geopolitical dilemma complicates Japan’s ability to fully establish its influence, as CARs seek to balance their relations with the two regional giants, namely Russia and China.
It is argued that Japan’s education diplomacy toward Central Asia has been reflecting a strategic shift from transactional geopolitics to human-centric engagement. Through its several programmes like the MEXT scholarships, JDS programs, and Japan Centres, Japan has invested to building the human capital, fostering the mutual understanding, and promoting the democratic values in the region. Thus, the education diplomacy has positioned Japan as a trusted partner rather than a hegemon by enhancing its soft power in the CARS. However, concomitantly, the geopolitical competition from China and Russia have been posing challenges to Japan’s influence in the region. At last, bottom-line is notwithstanding, Japan’s has maintained and sustained its commitment to educational collaboration and shaping a new generation of Central Asian leaders aligned with democratic ideals.
About the authors:
Ms. Anjana V.S. (Ph.D. Scholar), Department of South and Central Asian Studies, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda (India) 151401.
Jay Koche, (Ph.D. Scholar), Department of South and Central Asian Studies, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda (India) 151401
Prof. Bawa Singh, Department of South and Central Asian Studies, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda (India) 151401.
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