Tashkent ¨C When leaders of Central Asian nations meet with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi for the first ever Japan-Central Asia Summit this month, East Asia¡¯s longstanding economic powerhouse will have an opportunity to become an influential actor in Central Asia ¡ª not merely by its size, but rather by a strategic move to focus on the sustainability agenda in this mineral-rich region.
The first Japan-Central Asia summit comes after decades in which other geopolitical giants such as China, Russia and, most recently, the United States with last month¡¯s C5+1 Summit in Washington, set their sights on economic and political influence in the region.
It¡¯s no mystery as to why: In addition to its strategic importance as a bridge between East and West, the five countries of Central Asia ¡ª Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan ¡ª are home to vast energy and mineral reserves and a growing source of the rare-earth metals necessary for modern electronics, green energy and military technology.
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