Japan-Central Asia Summit to Be Held in Tokyo in Dec.

Newsfrom Japan

Politics

Nov 27, 2025 17:21 (JST)

Tokyo, Nov. 27 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government is preparing to hold a summit with five Central Asian countries in Tokyo in mid-December, informed sources said Thursday.

Japan aims to bolster its relations with these countries, which are located in a strategically important region sometimes referred to as the “backyards” of China and Russia and have rich energy and mineral resources.

The five countries–Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan–are former members of the Soviet Union and have strong historical ties with Russia. Meanwhile, China has expanded its relations with the countries in recent years.

In an effort to reduce the influence of China and Russia, Japan hopes to confirm its cooperation with the Central Asian countries in maintaining and strengthening an international order based on the rule of law.

The Japan-Central Asia summit was initially scheduled to take place in Kazakhstan in August last year, but was canceled as then Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida prioritized responding to emergency information about a possible megaquake in the Nankai Trough off Japan’s Pacific coast.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]

Jiji Press