*Please note that this event will be conducted in Japanese only. The Economic Security Intelligence Lab (ESIL) at the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology (RCAST), The University of Tokyo, will host the following public seminar, welcoming Dr. Shogo Akagawa, Visiting Lecturer at the Faculty of History and Cultural Studies, Free University of Berlin, and Europe-based Editorial Writer for The Nikkei. East Germany’s Intelligence Operations Targeting Japan: Political and Economic Elites, Information Warfare, and Lessons for Today Revealed through Declassified Documents In this seminar, we will be joined by Dr. Shogo Akagawa, author of the newly published book Hidden Histories of the Cold War between Japan and Germany: Truths Revealed by East German Secret Documents (Keio University Press, October 2025). Drawing on an extensive body of declassified East German intelligence files and interviews with former government officials, the book offers the most comprehensive analysis to date of East Germany’s policy toward Japan and its covert operations during the Cold War. It sheds new light on how Japan was positioned as a strategic frontline state in the East–West confrontation and examines, through primary sources, the nature of contacts, approaches, and influence activities directed at Japanese actors. The lecture will examine in detail how East Germany conducted its intelligence and influence operations toward Japan, including efforts to cultivate ties with political, business, and media elites, covert activities disguised as economic and commercial exchanges, and cases of industrial espionage such as illegal semiconductor technology transfers in violation of COCOM export controls. By tracing how Japan became entangled in information warfare and influence operations as a result of fundamental misperceptions about the nature of the Cold War, the seminar will also highlight the vulnerabilities in postwar Japan’s understanding of its international environment and external economic relations. In addition, the seminar will explore what lessons these Cold War experiences offer for today’s international environment. Information warfare, industrial espionage, disinformation, influence operations, and competition over science and technology have reemerged, in transformed forms, as central challenges in contemporary international politics and economic security. Using historical cases as a point of reference, the seminar will provide an opportunity for participants to reflect, through discussion, on the risks of today’s information environment and how best to confront them.

The Economic Security Intelligence Lab (ESIL) at the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology (RCAST), The University of Tokyo, and the Embassy of Iceland in Tokyo is honored to co-host for a public symposium titled: [Symposium featuring the Foreign Minister of Iceland] Japan–Iceland Cooperation on Economic Security: Bridging the Arctic and the Indo-Pacific At this symposium, we are honored to welcome H.E. Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iceland, to discuss the future potential of Japan–Iceland relations, primarily from the perspective of economic security. Minister Gunnarsdóttir has previously served as Minister of Education, Science and Culture; Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture; and Acting Prime Minister. Drawing on her broad policy experience and strategic insight, the symposium will explore new possibilities for Japan–Iceland cooperation with a view toward both the Arctic and the Indo-Pacific. Japan and Iceland share fundamental values such as democracy and the rule of law. Building on this foundation, the two countries have deepened cooperation across a wide range of areas, including the maintenance of the free trade system, the stable supply of strategic goods, and energy collaboration leveraging advanced technologies. In particular, in the Arctic, Japan has become an important partner for Iceland through scientific cooperation and environmental protection efforts within the framework of the Arctic Council. The reduction of sea ice due to climate change is increasing the potential use of Arctic sea routes, while also expanding the scope of fisheries and other economic activities. These developments have heightened international attention to resource management and monitoring frameworks, and have made institutional responses to ensure marine environmental protection and the sustainability of biological resources ever more critical. As a result, discussions surrounding the Arctic now intersect not only with environmental cooperation but also with broader questions of regional security and the future of international order. Moreover, the Arctic region and its surrounding areas are rapidly gaining importance from the perspective of economic security. Undersea infrastructure, including undersea cables, forms a critical foundation for global economic activity and information networks. Ensuring their protection and stable operation is directly linked to the resilience of supply chains and data flows. At the same time, growing attention is being directed toward the Arctic’s mineral and rare resource reserves. These materials are indispensable for advanced technologies and clean energy industries. As supply chain risks associated with economic coercion by states become increasingly apparent, the importance of diversifying and securing stable sources of supply has been widely emphasized at the international level. In addition, cooperation in geothermal and other clean energy sectors offers a promising model for leveraging the strengths of both countries, demonstrating how sustainability and economic security can be mutually reinforcing. This symposium will examine, from the perspective of linking the Arctic and the Indo-Pacific as two strategic spaces, how cooperation among value-sharing partners can contribute to regional stability and economic resilience. In an era of accelerating geopolitical change, it will provide an opportunity for multifaceted discussion on the role that Japan–Iceland relations can play in shaping a stable and sustainable international order.

The Economic Security Intelligence Lab (ESIL) at the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology (RCAST), The University of Tokyo, is pleased to co-host a brown bag lunch seminar (please feel free to bring your own lunch) with the Institute of Contemporary Asian Studies (ICAS), Temple University Japan titled: Ukraine and Japan in a Fragmenting Security Order: with Visiting Ukrainian experts and the former Ambassador of Ukraine to Japan Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022, reached its fourth year in February 2026. This invasion remains an ongoing, protracted conflict that raises fundamental questions not only about European security, but also about the international legal order and the global balance of power. The war has laid bare both cooperation and division among major powers, and countries in Asia—including Japan—are being challenged to determine how they should respond. While the Japanese government has demonstrated solidarity with Ukraine through diplomatic and material support, it is also being compelled to reassess its strategic approach within a changing international order. For Japan, the invasion of Ukraine has spurred a dramatic recalculation of its defense posture and its place in the world. Asian democracies quickly began to view Ukraine not as a distant case, but as a relevant security mirror. Particularly as traditional security guarantors such as the United States recalibrate their global role, Japan is being called upon to assume greater responsibility on the world stage. These debates intersect with broader concerns relevant to Japan and other partners, including energy security, economic resilience, supply-chain dependencies, and challenges to the rule-based international order. Ukraine’s experience—both in resisting military aggression and in adapting its security, technological, and information strategies—offers valuable lessons for democracies facing persistent hybrid threats across Europe and the Indo-Pacific. This seminar will welcome leading Ukrainian experts and a former ambassador to examine these issues from multiple perspectives. The discussion will explore how Japan and Ukraine can learn from one another and strengthen the security and resilience of both regions.