Timur Dadabaev is Professor at University of Tsukuba, Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Japan.

Academic literature dealing with the Japanese foreign policy towards Central Asia is scarce. There are few edited studies dealing with Japanese policy in these region as a part of broader studies covering relations of one CA country with the US, EU, China and Russia. Others focus on the Japanese foreign policy in general with few references and details on the Japanese Eurasian/Central Asian engagements. Those books which include chapters on Japanese Central Asian policy rather focus on Japan's Asian policy with heavy focus on East. Contributions in those chapters are often made by former diplomats and these tend to be based on personal views/experiences rather than on empirical data or theoretical analysis. Those rare studies exclusively focusing on Japan's Central Asian diplomacy provide a good outline of the Japanese foreign policy initiatives. However, the major deficiency of such works is the lack of a strong theoretical grounding and coherent analytical framework due to the fact that these are collected volumes which were compiled based on common topic rather than common analytical framework.In order to compensate for these deficiencies, current volume offers exclusive analysis of the foreign policy of Japan towards Central Asia. This study uses the case of Central Asia to demonstrate specificities, contradictions and dilemmas of the Japanese foreign policy in general but also offers insights into how these are seen from the perspective of Central Asian states. In addition, this study attempts to integrate into and ground empirical material into theories of international relations. Therefore, this volume will be of interest not only to practitioners but also to those interested in theoretical analysis of foreign policy. In parts dealing with various Japanese projects, this volume aims to provide details on a number of Japanese-funded developmental projects in CA information on which is scarce but very valuable for those involved in similar projects in international organizations and NGOs.

List of illustrationsIntroduction1. Between Idealism and Pragmatism2. Japan's ODA Assistance Scheme and Central Asian Engagement: Determinants, Trends and Expectations3. One Village - One Product: The Case of JICA's Community Empowerment Project in Kyrgyzstan4. Water-resource Dispute Management in Central Asia: Japanese Attempt of Water Resource Efficiency Promotion5. China as Japan's 'other' in Central Asia6. Chinese and Japanese Foreign Policies towards Central Asia from a Comparative PerspectiveIndex

This volume details the evolution of Japan's foreign policy and its initiatives with respect to Central Asia. This volume provides insights into the security, political, and economic aspects of cooperation between CA states and Japan and the features that characterize these relations.