Seeking alliances to counter China high on Abe's agenda during five-nation Asia tour
Access to natural resources will be high on his agenda during the August visits to five nations, but so is countering China's reach, analysts say
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will embark on a five-nation tour of Central Asia in August to shore up trade relations where China is the dominant player.
Analysts in Japan agree that gaining better access to natural resources is an important task for Japan, but they believe Abe will be expending just as much effort in building alliances in an effort to counter China, which surpassed Russia as Central Asia's biggest trading partner in 2009.
Abe has decided that it is time for him to . . . try to win them over
The trip is scheduled to take in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, government sources told the Yomiuri newspaper, and there is a possibility that Abe will meet Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, who is expected to be in the region during the same time to attend the World Judo Championships.
The trip will be the first to the region by a Japanese leader since Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited in August 2006.
Government officials indicated that Abe plans to express his determination to continue assisting in development of the five republics through private-sector investment and trade in natural resources, including rare earth minerals, precious metals and petroleum products.
But Yoichi Shimada, a professor of international relations at Fukui Prefectural University, is confident that the prime minister has an ulterior motive.
"Ever since he came to power in December 2012, Abe has been travelling around the world to improve Japan's relations with other countries," Shimada said.