A New Era in Central Asia–Japan Relations: The CA+JAD Tokyo Summit

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — The first leaders-level summit held within the framework of the “Central Asia plus Japan” Dialogue Summit (Central Asia plus Japan Dialogue – CA+JAD) took place in Tokyo on December 20, 2025. This summit represents an important turning point in terms of elevating the institutional framework of relations between Japan and the Central Asian states to the level of heads of state.

Hosted by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, the summit was attended by President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Japarov, President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov, and President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Japan became the first country to initiate a regular dialogue mechanism with the Central Asian countries in the “Central Asia + 1” format. In this context, the first meeting at the foreign ministers’ level was held in Astana in 2004 under the name “Central Asia + Japan Dialogue,” and this format was maintained at the ministerial level for many years. The Tokyo Summit held in December 2025 represents a structural transformation by elevating this process to the level of heads of state.

Within the scope of the summit, numerous bilateral cooperation documents were signed between Japan and the Central Asian countries with the participation of public and private sector actors. These documents cover a broad range of areas, including political dialogue, economy and trade, energy, infrastructure, agriculture, environment, digitalization, education, health, science, artificial intelligence and technology, as well as disaster management. The signed documents demonstrate that Japan is pursuing a multidimensional and cross-sectoral strategy toward Central Asia.

When the agreements signed between Japan and the participating countries are evaluated on a country-by-country basis:

Between Kazakhstan and Japan, cooperation documents were signed in the fields of trade and economy, energy (including nuclear), environment, agriculture, transportation, digitalization, education, and science; energy, nuclear technology, and industrial investments stood out in particular.

The agreements between Kyrgyzstan and Japan focused on the prevention of double taxation, energy infrastructure, health, education, disaster management, and space technologies; infrastructure projects and the development of human capital emerged as priority areas.

The documents signed with Uzbekistan covered strategic partnership, renewable energy, health, agriculture, water management, digitalization, education, and industry; energy, health, and higher education projects came to the fore.

Cooperation between Tajikistan and Japan concentrated on investment protection, energy infrastructure, agriculture, transportation, satellite and climate monitoring technologies, and education; electricity infrastructure as well as disaster and climate monitoring projects became particularly prominent.

The agreements signed between Turkmenistan and Japan covered energy, petrochemicals, transportation, banking, digital technologies and higher education; natural gas and petrochemical projects constituted the main determining areas.

Beyond these bilateral cooperation areas, one of the most important regional outcomes of the summit was the announcement by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi of the “Central Asia + Japan Tokyo Initiative.” When evaluated in the context of the Central Asian countries, this initiative can be considered an important step in diversifying the industrial development of Central Asian countries through Japan’s technological and institutional support.

In recent years, China’s emergence as a central actor in the industrial development of Central Asia has come to the forefront as a factor increasing the region’s external economic dependencies. In this context, industrial cooperation projects to be developed between Japan and the Central Asian states carry the potential to reduce structural dependence on China and contribute to a more balanced regional power structure, particularly in the industrial sphere.

Another strategic balancing element that Japan has brought to the region through this summit is Japan’s emergence as an alternative partner, alongside the United States and China, in the process of evaluating critical minerals. This situation creates a new area of diversification and negotiation for Central Asia in terms of critical minerals and can be considered an important turning point for the region. Indeed, the Central Asian countries participating in the summit clearly expressed their satisfaction with the cooperation goals in areas such as critical minerals, particularly within the framework of the “Central Asia + Japan Tokyo Initiative.”

Another element that left its mark on the summit was the increased diplomatic-level visibility of the Uyghur Turkic language and Uzbek Turkic language.

President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev was welcomed at the airport in Japan by Japan’s Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Arfiya Eri, who is of Uyghur origin and Uzbek descent. According to the footage retweeted from Arfiya Eri’s social media account, President Mirziyoyev was seen being greeted in the Uyghur Turkic language by Deputy Foreign Minister Arfiya Eri. Mirziyoyev’s understanding of this greeting and engaging in a warm conversation with Arfiya Eri strengthened the symbolic dimension of the summit. Furthermore, when examining the title of the footage retweeted on Arfiya Eri’s social media account, it was observed that President Mirziyoyev said to Deputy Foreign Minister Arfiya Eri, “I Am Proud of You.”

In recent years, it has been observed that Arfiya Eri, a politician of Uyghur origin and Uzbek descent who has become prominent in Japanese politics, has assumed a bridge role at both symbolic and practical levels in relations between Japan and the Turkic-Islamic world, and that this position has been increasingly reinforced.

Ahmet Sağlam

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of UzDaily.