ASTANA – Tokyo and Astana are building new momentum in their city-to-city partnership, with finance, artificial intelligence and digital technology emerging as key areas for cooperation, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said in an interview with The Astana times following her May visit to Kazakhstan.
Astana Mayor Zhenis Kassymbek and Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike. Photo credit: Tokyo Metropolitan Government “Tokyo would seek to further deepen its collaboration with Astana in addressing shared challenges and in advancing initiatives to enhance international competitiveness of both cities in fields such as international finance, AI, and digital technology,” Koike said.
In Astana, Koike met with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Astana Mayor Zhenis Kassymbek. Her visit also included a Kazakh-Japanese business event and pitch session featuring leading Japanese companies specializing in decarbonization, renewable energy, drone technologies, and carbon credit solutions.
Koike said she and President Tokayev have enjoyed a “longstanding relationship” dating back to Tokayev’s tenure as foreign minister. During the visit to Alem AI International Center. Photo credit: Tokyo Metropolitan Government “Over the years, we have worked to foster exchanges and deepen cooperation between our countries and our cities,” said Koike, who received the Order of Dostyk from Tokayev during her visit.
“In Astana, we carried out high-profile promotional initiatives for Tokyo-based startups and SMEs in the GX [green transformation] sector, thereby creating valuable opportunities to facilitate their global expansion and lay a solid foundation for future business partnerships,” she said.
“At the Ministry of Agriculture, we were briefed on sturgeon aquaculture and caviar production. Similar initiatives are underway on Kozushima Island in Tokyo, and through our exchange of views, we deepened our shared understanding of the prospects for future collaboration,” she said.
Koike’s visit comes months after Tokayev’s visit to Japan in December, which concluded with more than 40 commercial agreements worth roughly $3.7 billion. There, Tokyo and Astana signed a memorandum of understanding, agreeing to forge deeper ties and practical exchanges in digital area and disaster preparedness and urban resilience.
The partnership brings together two capitals of very different scale: Tokyo, a metropolitan prefecture of around 14.27 million people, and Astana, Kazakhstan’s rapidly growing capital with a population surpassing 1.6 million. “During the latest trip, I visited and toured the organizations relevant to this MOU.
Specifically, we carried out high-profile promotional initiatives for Tokyo-based startups and SMEs in the green transformation sector, while also undertaking site visits across a broad range of fields, including AI, disaster prevention, education, and sturgeon aquaculture,” said Koike.