Japanese FM to Visit Central Asia

Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya will visit Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan from Sunday until August 28, according to the Foreign Ministry's announcement on Wednesday.

Iwaya will meet with Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu and Uzbek Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov respectively to boost bilateral ties with Japan, The Caspian Post reports citing foreign media.

The ministers will also discuss the "Central Asia plus Japan" dialogue ahead of a related summit meeting. The dialogue involves five Central Asian countries and Japan.

Then Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida had planned to visit Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan last August but canceled the trip after the issuance of emergency information on a possible megaquake in the Nankai Trough off the Pacific coast of Japan.