Central Asia is located strategically beside the Middle East and possesses rich energy resources. The region is often considered as the "Second Middle East" or the "strategic energy base of the twenty-first century," endowing it with important strategic status in Japanese foreign policy. As early as the fall of the Soviet Union, Japan took notice of Central Asia's power vacuum and natural resources and engaged with the region. Since then, Japan has gradually increased its emphasis on Central Asia, expanding from the lack of a strategic conception to the introduction of the Eurasia/Silk Road Diplomacy hinged on energy diplomacy and geopolitics in the region. After 2004, Japan adopted more comprehensive and institutionalized policies towards Central Asia centered on official development assistance (ODA), political status and national security.