Venue
Sanjo Conference Hall,
The University of Tokyo

Co-Chairs:

HIROSE Tetsuya
Former Japanese Ambassador to Azerbaijan

Christopher LEN
Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program

9:30-9:40 Opening speeches

KOMATSU Hisao
University of Tokyo

Niklas SWANSTRÖM
Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program

9:40-11:40 Session 1.
Japan's New Role in Central Asia

KAWATO Akio
Former Japanese Ambassador to Uzbekistan
Formulation of Japan’s Policy “Central Asia Plus Japan

Christopher LEN
Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program
Japan’s Evolving Central Asian Policy

YUASA Takeshi
The National Institute for Defense Studies
Japan’s Developing Initiative in Eurasia

Discussant: Tamura Keisuke
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan

12:50-14:50 Session 2.
Japan-Central Asian Relations in the Global and Regional Context

IWASHITA Akihiro
Hokkaido University
SCO: Power Balance or Border Dynamics?

Erica MARAT
Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program
Kyrgyzstan – Japan’s Prime Partner in Central Asia?

UYAMA Tomohiko
Hokkaido University
Japan’s Diplomacy towards Central Asia in the Context of Japan’s Asian Diplomacy and Japan-US relations

Discussant: Timur Dadabaev
Tsukuba University

15:00-16:30 Session 3.
Economic Aspects of Japan-Central Asian Relations

Niklas SWANSTRÖM
Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program
Economic Cooperation As a Tool for Conflict Management and Confidence Building in Central Asia

SHIMAO Kuniko
York St John University
The Political and Economic Relationships between Japan and West and Central Asian Countries with Reference to the Development of Energy and Natural Resources

Discussant: SUGIMOTO Tadashi
Euro-Asian Research Institute

16:30-17:00 General Discussion and Summation

HIROSE Tetsuya
Former Japanese Ambassador to Azerbaijan

Christopher LEN
Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program

17:30- Reception