All rights reserved. This volume contains the proceedings of a seminar held at the Slavic Re- search Center, Hokhaido University, on 22 Iuly 1 998. In addition to the three papers presented at the seminar, an article by Mr. Rafis Abazov, who actively participated in the seminar, is included. At the time of the seminar, all the authors were staying in Tokyo as visiting scholars. Previously infrequent contacts between Japanese and Central Asian scholars are now becoming more common, providing both sides opportunities to learn a lot from each other.
Some works offer no more than a superficial outline of the present situation.
Few scholars use new meth- odologies developed in the West. The papers published here are the results of the authors' efforts to raise the level of political and economic research on Central Asia. It is to be judged by readers whether their efforts were successful. In any case, we believe that the papers provide a good opportunity for constructive dialogue between Central Asian and Japanese scholars.