When the United States hosted its second presidential-level C5 1 Summit with the leaders of Central Asia on November 6, it signaled a shift that has been building quietly for several years: the region is no longer a strategic afterthought. Sanctions, chokepoints and geopolitical rivalry have redrawn the global economic map, pushing countries to look for stable partners and resilient supply chains. Now, as Japan prepares to host its own C5 Japan Summit on December 19, Tokyo faces a similar inflection point and an opportunity to correct what has long been a blind spot in its foreign policy.

Japan has historically maintained cordial ties with Central Asia, but its involvement has rarely kept pace with the region’s growing strategic value. Today, however, Japan’s core economic security concerns, such as securing energy, accessing critical minerals, and diversifying transport routes, intersect directly with what Central Asia offers. The upcoming summit provides Tokyo with a chance to place these relationships on a more structured and strategic footing.

Japan’s decision to convene this summit is due to several forces, the first being its need to secure stable supplies of energy and strategic resources. Few countries are more relevant here than Kazakhstan. As the largest economy in Central Asia, Kazakhstan attracts around 80 percent of all foreign investment flowing into the region. It is Japan’s strongest economic partner among the five Central Asian states. Japan 

© The Diplomat