SPF World Views

In this episode, we bring you a special dialogue recorded live at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, exploring the theme “ Women’s Political Leadership in a Changing International Peace and Security Environment .”   Ambassador Melanne Verveer, Executive Director of the Georgetown Institute of Women, Peace and Security, is joined by Dr. Roya Akhavan, Research Fellow at International Christian Universit...

Today’s digital infrastructure powers almost everything we depend on, from hospitals and energy grids to supply chains, elections, and national security. But, that same infrastructure has become a strategic vulnerability. In this episode, we're pleased to share the keynote address given by former U.S. National Cyber Director Chris Inglis at the Sasakawa–Yomiuri Global Forum held in Tokyo. Drawing...

While global attention tends to focus on large-scale wars in places like Ukraine and Gaza, many other violent conflicts, often rooted in unresolved struggles over self-determination, continue largely out of sight. On this episode of SPF World Views, we explore what it takes to pursue peace in this global moment. Our guest, Dr. Akiko Horiba, Director of SPF's Center for Mediation Support, draws on...

This is part two of our special rebroadcast of NHK World programs looking at the concept of the blue economy. In part one, we explored Japan’s perspective. For part two, we turn our attention to countries in Africa. TICAD9, an international conference held in August 2025, brought African nations and the Japanese government together for high‑level dialogue. One major focus was the blue economy, an...

Around the world, our ocean is under immense pressure from climate change and plastic pollution to the depletion of critical resources. Against this backdrop, the “blue economy” has emerged as a key concept for addressing these challenges by bringing together economic growth and long‑term sustainability. With this episode of SPF World Views, we're kicking off a special two‑part series featuring hi...

What will the strategic landscape look like 30 years from now? This question drives the creation of Global Strategic Trends (GST), a flagship report series that explores long-term outlooks and highlights potential challenges that could shape the decades ahead. In this conversation, Mr. Richard Johnson from the Defence Futures team of the U.K. Ministry of Defence joins SPF Senior Research Fellow Ip...

In this episode, we welcome Dr. Santosh Kumar Rauniyar, research fellow for the Ocean Policy Research Institute (OPRI) of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation. He's been spearheading the projects at the foundation focusing on the Third Pole – a vast region also known as the Hindu Kush Himalaya, which contains the highest mountains in the world and the largest quantity of ice outside of the polar regions....

Japan’s new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, just one week after taking office, has faced her first major diplomatic test – a summit meeting in Japan with U.S. President Donald Trump during his closely watched Asia tour. In this episode, SPF Senior Fellow Tsuneo "Nabe" Watanabe breaks down the outcomes of their meeting and discusses the economic and security implications for the Japan-U.S. relation...

In this episode of SPF World Views, we're sharing a special rebroadcast of the keynote speech given by Atul Khare, UN Under-Secretary General for Operational Support, at a recent event at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation . In his remarks, he reflects on the 10th anniversary of the UN Triangular Partnership Programme, discusses Japan's contributions to these efforts, and looks to the future of peaceke...

Our guest today is Professor Carlo Sagun, President and CEO of Bayan Family of Foundations (BFF) in the Philippines. In this conversation, we take a deep dive into what exactly it means to add the word “social” to “enterprise," "entrepreneur," and "entrepreneurship.” We also discuss how these social enterprises — or what he calls a heart with a business — can support sustainable development in the...

In this episode of SPF World Views, Dr. Comfort Ero, President of the International Crisis Group, and SPF Senior Research Fellow Ippeita Nishida dive into the current state of global crises around the world and their impact on Japan. Their discussion covers the ongoing conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, the intensifying U.S.-China rivalry and Trump 2.0, the implications for the Global South,...

In this episode of SPF World Views, we're excited to share a rebroadcast of a special program aired on NHK World earlier in January called “The Second Trump Presidency: Views from Japan.” In this program, I had the opportunity to speak with Ambassador Kenichiro Sasae, president of the Japan Institute of International Affairs and Japan's former ambassador to the United States, and Dr. Atsushi Sunam...

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...

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...

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 Maldive...

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...

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...

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 lastin...

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 effort...

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 an...

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 thes...

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 joi...

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 o...