Our guest today is Nobukatsu Kanehara, Executive Director of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation. Kanehara san has decades of experience in Japanese government, serving in a variety of positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and later in the Cabinet of Japan, including as Assistant Chief Cabinet Secretary to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe from 2012 to 2019. In our conversation, we discuss how Japan is watching the U.S. presidential election, and how the country might approach a potential Trump or...

Our guest today is Hadianto Rasyid, Mayor of Palu City, located in the province of Central Sulawesi in eastern Indonesia. In 2018, Central Sulawesi was hit by a triple disaster: a magnitude 7.5 earthquake followed by a tsunami and mudslides caused by liquefaction that devastated Palu City and the wider region. In this episode, Ayaka Matsuno, director of the Social Innovation Program at SPF, speaks with Mayor Rasyid about the city’s emergence from this triple disaster, his strategy to use...

For small island states, rising sea levels and erosion caused by climate change pose an existential threat. The Maldives, a country of nearly 200 inhabited islands dotting the Indian Ocean is one such country. Current estimates predict that the Maldives, which has an average elevation of 1.5 meters above sea level, could be fully submerged by the end of the century.  The government of the Maldives has spearheaded a unique initiative around an artificial island created near the capital city of...

Eighty years ago in the spring of 1944 on the border between modern day Myanmar and the states of Manipur and Nagaland in Northeast India, Japanese and British forces fought in what is regarded as some of the fiercest clashes of WWII. The Battle of Imphal in Manipur and the Battle of Kohima in Nagaland are now regarded as one of the crucial turning points in the Asia-Pacific War, marking a brutal defeat of Japanese forces as they sought to invade India. In this episode, we speak with Dr....

Our guest today is Tsuneo “Nabe” Watanabe, senior fellow of the Security Studies Program at SPF. He joined us to talk about the recent state visit by Japanese Prime Minister Kishida to the U.S. Both sides have said that Japan-U.S. relations are closer now than ever, but at the same time, challenges posed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, provocations from North Korea, and recent moves by China, to name a few, have brought us to what Prime Minister Kishida called a turning point in history. In...

In October 2000, the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda was formally initiated by the landmark UN Security Council Resolution 1325, which recognizes the critical role of women in preventing and resolving conflicts. The evidence shows that when women participate in peace processes, outcomes improve. As one example, when women participate in peace agreements, the chances of that agreement lasting longer than two years is increased by 20%, and the chances of lasting longer than 15 years goes...

The G20 Summit in New Delhi, India, wrapped up earlier this month with a Leaders’ Declaration issued under the theme of “One Earth, One Family, One Future.” While much of the media coverage has focused on the geopolitical implications of the summit, this year’s declaration also made significant strides looking to gender equality and women’s empowerment, including a direct call for increased efforts to “close gender gaps and promote the full, equal, effective and meaningful participation of...

In this episode of SPF World Views, we spoke with Yenny Wahid, a social entrepreneur, political activist, and former journalist who currently serves as the director of the Wahid Foundation in Indonesia. Her roots in politics go back generations, including her father who served as the fourth president of Indonesia. While in Tokyo for the first Asia Statesperson's Forum, organized by SPF’s Asia and Middle East Program, Ms. Wahid joined SPF World Views for a wide-ranging conversation about the...

2024 will mark the 100th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Japan and Türkiye. These two countries, though geographically distant, have historically shared a close relationship. The Sasakawa Peace Foundation (SPF), as part of its projects focusing on countries in the Middle East, has sought to deepen these ties, building networks to connect the people of Türkiye and Japan. As part of these efforts, the foundation’s Asia and Middle East Program welcomed a delegation of young diplomats...

Welcome to SPF World Views, a new podcast featuring in-depth discussions with our experts here in Japan as well as our partners around the world. Before diving into these conversations, we thought it best to take a moment to reflect on who are at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation (SPF) and how we fit into this global conversation. Who better to explain than Dr. Atsushi Sunami, president of SPF. He joins us for the inaugural episode of SPF World Views to consider the foundation's role in...

SPF World Views is a podcast that seeks out new perspectives on the global topics of today and insights into the conversations of tomorrow.  Through our work as a Think, Do, and Innovate-Tank, we at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation (SPF) have the opportunity to meet, collaborate with, and learn from people around the world. This program will feature conversations with these collaborators as well as our experts here in Japan. Be sure to subscribe, and visit our website to learn more about SPF.