Hayashi Sanae invited the five countries of Central Asia to attend, but only Tokayev showed up.
On December 18, 2025, Japanese Prime Minister Hayashi Sanae met with President Tokayev of Kazakhstan in Tokyo. Tokayev came to attend the "Japan-Central Asia Summit." Tokayev praised Japan as the initiator of the "Central Asia Plus" cooperation mechanism, and this summit will be a milestone in the historical relations between the two sides.
It is known that although the trade volume between Japan and Kazakhstan is only $2 billion, it already accounts for 70% of the total trade between all Central Asian countries and Japan. During this summit, the two sides did not mention the current tense "Sino-Japanese relations," apparently Kazakhstan does not want to affect its relations with China because of the Sino-Japanese relationship.
As for why only Tokayev from the five Central Asian countries attended this meeting, the reasons are self-evident. Some people say that Tokayev is a "chameleon" in Central Asia. What do netizens think?
Original: toutiao.com/article/1851897515631623/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.