In recent years, Central Asia has emerged as a strategic hub alongside the reshaping of power balances within the international system. The region’s energy and critical mineral resources, its geoeconomic position on transport and trade corridors between Europe and Asia, and its pursuit of multi-vector foreign policies have made Central Asia a focal point of intensified great power competition. Within this context, Japan’s approach toward Central Asia diverges distinctly from that of other global actors.
Tokyo has constructed its relations with this region not through military alliances, security guarantees, or large-scale infrastructure projects, but through long-term institutional partnerships, human resource development, and the strengthening of governance capacity. The ‘Silk Road Diplomacy’ concept, which took shape in 1997, and the ‘Central Asia + Japan Dialogue (CA+JAD),’ launched in 2004, established the institutional foundation of this approach. The CA+JAD Summit held in Tokyo in December 2025, which was elevated to the level of heads of state for the first time, demonstrates that Japan now positions Central Asia as a strategic partner.
The Tokyo Declaration, adopted with the 2025 summit held in Tokyo, has clearly set forth Japan’s new priorities for Central Asia. Taking shape under the headings of green transformation and resilience, human resource development, and connectivity, the Central Asia-Japan AI Cooperation Partnership accompanying this scope reveals the uniqueness of Japanese diplomacy’s approach to technology. Japan treats artificial intelligence not as a directly exported technology or infrastructure package, but as a governance tool capable of altering and transforming public administration and institutional processes.[i]
This approach occasionally diverges from China’s finance- and infrastructure-centered digitalization model or South Korea’s corporate-oriented technology export strategy. Japan’s priority is to ensure the gradual integration of artificial intelligence within customs, public auditing, logistics management, and regulatory agencies. In this context, the envisioned risk analysis systems, automated audit mechanisms, and data-driven decision-making processes aim to accelerate administrative procedures and enhance predictability.[ii]
Japan’s alignment of its AI partnership with the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route strengthens the strategic link between technology and connectivity. Supporting the Middle Corridor, which bypasses Russia, both enhances the strategic autonomy of Central Asian states and aligns with Japan’s economic security priorities. Projects aimed at customs modernization carried out at the Port of Aktau stand among the concrete examples where artificial intelligence integrates with physical infrastructure.[iii]
Japan’s artificial intelligence diplomacy in Central Asia is not solely aimed at addressing the capacity gaps of the regional states. Japan, which remains relatively behind the United States and China in the field of AI, views Central Asia as a suitable arena for developing a normative and institutional-based technology partnership. The Japanese government’s appointment of AI attaches to its embassies and its classification of Central Asian states as ‘primary AI partners’ are integral parts of this global strategy.[iv]
From the perspective of Central Asian states, the deepening partnership with Japan represents neither a search for an alternative to China nor a break from Russia. On the contrary, this stage is an extension of the multi-vector foreign policy and balancing strategy that the region has long embraced. In particular, Kazakhstan’s proposal to establish a regional artificial intelligence hub in Astana reflects a will to align Japan’s governance-oriented approach with local innovation ecosystems.[v]
The artificial intelligence-based partnership model developed by Japan in Central Asia offers a form of diplomacy with low visibility but one whose impact may deepen over the long term. This approach, grounded in the principle of ‘governance first, technology second,’ provides regional states with gains in institutional capacity; however, it also brings along the challenge of embedding externally sourced norms into administrative systems. Therefore, Japan’s quiet artificial intelligence diplomacy toward Central Asian countries constitutes a significant opportunity for the region.
What will be decisive in the long run is whether this partnership can strengthen the analytical autonomy of local institutions. While benefiting from the governance-based technology partnership offered by Japan, Central Asian states will also need to develop the capacity to define, audit, and readapt artificial intelligence systems. Otherwise, these systems, which appear technically neutral, may produce a new form of dependency. In this context, Japan’s artificial intelligence diplomacy in Central Asia constitutes a significant case study that will determine how and in what manner norms, information, and authority will circulate in Eurasia.
[i] “Governance first, technology second, in Japan’s quiet Central Asian AI diplomacy”, East Asia Forum, https://eastasiaforum.org/2026/01/23/governance-first-technology-second-in-japans-quiet-central-asian-ai-diplomacy/, (Access Date: 26.01.2026).
[ii] Ibid.
[iii] “The Summit of the “Central Asia plus Japan” Dialogue (CA+JAD)”, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, https://www.mofa.go.jp/erp/ca_c/pageite_000001_01438.html, (Access Date: 26.01.2026).
[iv] Ibid.
[v] “Japan Is Back in Central Asia, But on Different Terms”, The Diplomat, https://thediplomat.com/2026/01/japan-is-back-in-central-asia-but-on-different-terms/, (Access Date: 26.01.2026).
