![\"Kisho](\"http:\/\/www.nuclear-abolition.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Kisho-Kurokawa.jpg\")
Tokyo\/ASTANA (INPS Japan)<\/strong> \u2014 Built on the vast steppes of Central Asia, Kazakhstan\u2019s capital, Astana, is often described as a city of the future. Its glass-and-steel towers and monumental architecture reflect the aspirations of a young state determined to define its place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For Japan, Astana is more than a distant capital. The city\u2019s master plan was shaped in part by the late Kisho Kurokawa, one of Japan\u2019s leading architects, whose vision sought to combine Kazakhstan\u2019s nomadic heritage, harsh natural environment and state-building ambitions with forward-looking urban design. Today, that historical connection is expanding into cooperation on smart cities, green technologies, energy security and the shared pursuit of a world without nuclear weapons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On May 22, Kazakhstan\u2019s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev met Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike in Astana to discuss cooperation in smart city development, digital technologies, finance, education, emergency response and sustainable urban management. Tokyo, one of the world\u2019s most densely populated metropolitan areas, has developed advanced systems in public safety, disaster preparedness, transportation and administrative services. For rapidly growing Astana, Tokyo\u2019s experience offers a valuable reference point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tokayev praised Tokyo as one of the world\u2019s safest and most efficiently managed cities and expressed Kazakhstan\u2019s interest in Japan\u2019s smart city initiatives. Cooperation between Tokyo and Astana points to a broader form of urban diplomacy, in which cities work directly together to address shared challenges such as climate change, disaster risk, administrative efficiency and energy use.<\/p>\n\n\n Yet the deepening relationship cannot be explained by urban cooperation alone. Behind it lies a more urgent geopolitical concern: instability in the Middle East and the resulting anxiety over energy security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Japan has long depended heavily on the Middle East for crude oil. Tensions around Iran and instability in the Strait of Hormuz pose risks that directly affect Japan\u2019s economy and daily life. For Tokyo, diversifying resources and transport routes has become not merely a trade issue but a central element of economic security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this context, Kazakhstan has gained renewed importance. The country is rich in oil, natural gas, uranium and critical minerals, while also serving as a logistical hub linking Central Asia and Europe. At the \u201cCentral Asia plus Japan\u201d summit held in Tokyo in December 2025, strengthening critical mineral supply chains and supporting the Trans-Caspian Corridor \u2014 a route connecting Central Asia and Europe without passing through Russia \u2014 were placed at the center of regional cooperation.<\/p>\n\n\n For Japan, rare earths, lithium and other critical minerals are essential to batteries, electronics and next-generation industries. Diversifying sources of supply and transport routes is therefore an energy policy, an industrial policy and a security policy at once. Amid this realignment, Astana is emerging as an important platform for Japan\u2019s engagement with Central Asia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Astana\u2019s urban landscape reflects this convergence of ambition, resources and technology. The Baiterek Tower symbolizes Kazakhstan\u2019s independence and hopes for the future, while Nur Alem, the spherical landmark inherited from Expo 2017 Astana, stands as a symbol of renewable energy and sustainability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During Koike\u2019s visit, a Kazakhstan-Japan business event brought together Japanese companies specializing in decarbonization, renewable energy, drone technologies and carbon credit solutions. On the Kazakh side, interest in Japanese expertise has been growing in renewable energy, artificial intelligence and digital transformation. Urban development, environmental technologies, resource cooperation and logistics infrastructure are increasingly becoming parts of one broader strategic framework.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is, however, a deeper layer to the Japan-Kazakhstan relationship: the memory of nuclear suffering.<\/p>\n\n\n Japan is the only country to have suffered atomic bombings in war, in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Kazakhstan endured severe radiation damage from repeated Soviet nuclear tests at the Semipalatinsk test site, where more than 450 nuclear tests were conducted between 1949 and 1989, leaving long-term consequences for local communities and public health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 1991, Kazakhstan closed the Semipalatinsk test site. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, it gave up one of the world\u2019s largest nuclear arsenals that remained on its territory and chose the path of a non-nuclear-weapon state. That decision has become a defining feature of Kazakhstan\u2019s foreign policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Japan and Kazakhstan both know, not as an abstract matter of security theory but through historical experience, what nuclear weapons can inflict on human beings, communities, the environment and future generations. This shared memory gives the bilateral relationship a distinct ethical foundation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That memory has shaped sustained cooperation among governments, civil society and international organizations. INPS Japan has reported on nuclear disarmament-related conferences and events involving Kazakhstan\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Center for International Security and Policy, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons and Soka Gakkai International.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Akorda\"](\"http:\/\/www.nuclear-abolition.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/President-and-Ms.-Koike.jpg\")
![\"Middle](\"http:\/\/www.nuclear-abolition.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/TITR-1024x567.webp\")
![\"Semipalatinsk](\"http:\/\/www.nuclear-abolition.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/IMG_4273a.png\")
![\"A](\"http:\/\/www.nuclear-abolition.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/S__42590234_0-1024x473.jpg\")