‘Japan is back’ in Central Asia with new summit on AI, minerals and transport

Japan will host the leaders of five Central Asian countries in Tokyo this week, a meeting analysts say is meant to show that “Japan is back” as an active player in a region where global powers are competing for influence, minerals and transport routes.

The summit with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan, scheduled for Friday and Saturday, is also expected to consolidate Tokyo’s long-standing but “often underestimated role” in Central Asia as a trusted and non-coercive partner.

Initially planned for August last year, the Japan-Central Asia summit was cancelled after then prime minister Fumio Kishida cut short overseas travel plans in response to warnings over a possible megaquake in the Nankai Trough off Japan’s Pacific coast.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and the leaders of the five nations are expected to establish a new framework for cooperation in artificial intelligence, according to Jiji Press.