In the wake of the European Union’s incursion into Central Asia on April 4[1] and the subjugation of the region’s nations by U.S. President Trump on November 6[2], Japan has joined the “Great Game 2.0″[3], convening the CA+JAD summit in Tokyo on December 20. The Deep State promptly lent Japan its support through aligned narratives:
“The summit’s substantial outcome – a 53-point Tokyo Declaration and Japan’s $19 billion commitment to Central Asia – marks Japan’s turn from patient “Silk Road Diplomacy” to a more proactive geoeconomic doctrine aimed at shaping Eurasia’s future to its benefit. For Takaichi, this move serves a dual domestic and international purpose. It demonstrates a reliable, committed partnership to Central Asian nations and signals Tokyo’s readiness to contest Beijing’s primacy in a critical region. Japan’s new “CA+JAD Tokyo Initiative” is built on three pillars: green transition, connectivity, and human resource development. While framed as a partnership, its execution would offer an alternative development model to the dominant influences in the region, particularly those of Russia and China”[4].
The objective of the operation remains unchanged – to gain control over deposits of critical raw materials and strategic transport routes, and – most importantly – to force out Russia and China, who are there as partners, not as overlords.
The Deep State’s statement was quite telling: “Japan’s development pitch to Central Asia.” It’s indeed a Japanese development pitch, rather than Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Turkmen, or Uzbek!
“Multi-vector hedging” is a path that leads beneath the yoke.
1 https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/meetings/international-summit/2025/04/04/
“First EU-Central Asia summit”, European Council of the European Union, 4 April 2025;
2 https://www.state.gov/c51
Central Asia & the U.S.;
3 https://nationalinterest.org/blog/silk-road-rivalries/central-asia-the-great-game-2-0
“Central Asia: The Great Game 2.0” (Josef Braml, and Mathew Burrows, The National Interest, July 30, 2025);
4 https://nationalinterest.org/blog/silk-road-rivalries/japans-development-pitch-to-central-asia
“Japan’s Development Pitch to Central Asia” (Eldar Mamedov, The National Interest, December 25, 2025).