Newsletter No. 337
News-Analysis
July 22, 2006

 

KOIZUMI DECIDES TO VISIT KAZAKHSTAN IN LATE AUGUST

The Yomiuri Shinbun is reporting that Prime Minister Koizumi decided on the 20th to make a visit to Kazakhstan, and perhaps another Central Asian country, in late August. During this visit to Kazakhstan, Koizumi will hold meetings with President Nursultan Nazarbayev with the objective of solidifying Japan’s economic position in this oil and gas-rich country.

Although Keizo Obuchi, Tsutomu Hata, Yoshiro Mori, and Ryutaro Hashimoto all paid visits to Kazakhstan during their careers, none of them did so during their periods in office as Prime Minister of Japan. Thus, Junichiro Koizumi will become the first sitting Prime Minister to make a visit to independent Central Asia.

Last month, the “Central Asia Plus Japan Dialogue Action Plan” was issued by various foreign ministers meeting in Tokyo, and Taro Aso gave a major speech about Japan’s new Central Asia policy. Tokyo’s recent initiatives seem to have been welcomed by all the leaders of the Central Asian states, except for Saparmurat Niyazov of Turkmenistan, who is more critical of Japanese policy. The Koizumi visit will certainly consolidate this trend toward a more active Japanese diplomacy in Central Asia.