Khakima Gafurova – philologist and Japanologist, specializing in the literature of Japan during the medieval period. She is engaged in developing a linguocultural approach to teaching the Japanese language and addressing issues of intercultural communication. She has lectured on Japanese literature and culture at the Uzbek-Japanese Center for Human Resource Development and at the Tashkent State Institute of Oriental Studies. 

She has been a recipient of grants and scholarships from the Japan Foundation and has completed a research internship at Waseda University (Japan). For three years, she served as the chairperson of the Association of Japanese Language Teachers in Uzbekistan and chaired the public speaking competition in Japanese. 

She is the author of a Uzbek-Japanese dictionary, a textbook for developing reading skills and understanding media texts in Japanese, and methodological recommendations on linguoculturology. She has also authored scientific articles and a monograph on the culture and literature of Japan.