Japan–Central Asia Summit Could Be Held in Tokyo on 19–20 December

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — The Japanese government is working to organize a summit with the five Central Asian countries, scheduled to take place on 19–20 December in Tokyo, according to Jiji Press.

Officials are also considering the possibility of bilateral meetings between Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and the leaders of the Central Asian states.

Taro Aso, Vice President of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), outlined the plans at a general assembly of the LDP parliamentary friendship league promoting ties between Japan and Central Asia.

“Over the past six months, Russia, China, the United States, and other countries have held summits with the Central Asian states,” Aso noted. “From a diplomatic perspective, it is extremely important that Japan also successfully holds such summits.”

The Japan–Central Asia summit was originally planned to be held in Kazakhstan in August of last year but was canceled because then-Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government prioritized responding to an emergency warning about a potential megathrust earthquake in the Nankai Trough along Japan’s Pacific coast.