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The Indo-Pacific is becoming a central arena for global strategic competition, shaped by evolving power dynamics, economic interdependence and rising security challenges. In response, regional countries are strengthening their own security frameworks, forging new alliances and deepening cooperation on issues such as maritime security, cyber threats and disinformation. Meanwhile, extra-regional actors such as Germany and the European Union are increasingly engaging with the Indo-Pacific, recognizing its significance to global peace, stability and the rules-based international order.
Against this backdrop, Japan plays a key role as both a regional security actor and a strategic partner for Europe. With its Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) vision and contributions to multilateral frameworks, Japan offers valuable perspectives on regional security architectures and avenues for cooperation.
This seminar brought together policy experts, scholars, and practitioners from Japan, Germany, and Europe to explore how security policy frameworks in the Indo-Pacific are developing and how these developments affect European interests. Through expert dialogues and policy exchanges, the program aims to deepen mutual understanding, examine shared challenges such as hybrid threats and authoritarian influence, and identify practical opportunities for cooperation. By focusing on topics such as Japan–Europe security cooperation, emerging threats, regional visions and the interlinkage between security, development and democracy, the seminar seeked to foster a more resilient and inclusive strategic partnership between Europe and the Indo-Pacific.
Agenda
09:10 Welcome Remarks by Mr. Paul Linnarz – Country Representative Japan & Director, Regional Economic Programme Asia (SOPAS), Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung
09:15 Session 1: Japan-Germany/EU Security Cooperation: From Strategy to Practice, followed by Q&A
Lead Remarks:
- Mr. Hideshi Tokuchi – President, Research Institute for Peace and Security (RIPS), Japan
- Dr. David Adebahr – Lecturer, Graduate School of Intercultural Studies, Kobe University, Japan
- Prof. Atsuko Higashino – Professor, Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Japan
- Discussion and Q&A moderated by Prof. Michito Tsuruoka – Associate Professor, Faculty of Policy Management Graduate school of Media and Governance, Keio University, Japan
11:15 Session 2: Emerging Security Threats: Cyber, Disinformation, and Hybrid Warfare, followed by Q&A
Lead Remarks:
- Ms. Mihoko Matsubara - Chief Cybersecurity Strategist, Security and Trust Office, NTT Inc., Japan
- Mr. Reito Kaneko – Research Fellow, Policy Studies Department, Cybersecurity Studies Division, National Institute for Defense Studies (NIDS), Japan
- Prof. Hisae Nakanishi – Professor, Graduate School of Global Studies, Doshisha University
- Discussion and Q&A moderated by Prof. Laura-Anca Parepa – Associate Professor, Graduate School of Global Studies, Doshisha University
14:00 Session 3: Regional Security Architecture in the Indo-Pacific: Competing Visions, followed by Q&A
Lead Remarks:
- Prof. Garren Mulloy – Professor, Daito Bunka University, Japan
- Prof. Takahiro Shinyo - Professor / Special Advisor to the President, Kwansei Gakuin University, Japan
- Discussion and Q&A moderated by Dr. Kyoko Hatakeyama – Professor, Faculty of International Studies and Regional Development, University of Niigata prefecture, Japan
16:00 Session 4: Security, Development, and Democracy: Navigating the Triple Nexus in Asia, followed by Q&A
Lead Remarks:
- Ms. Saya Kiba – Associate Professor, Department of International Relations, Kobe City University of Foreign Studies, Japan
- Mr. Hiroaki Shiga – Professor, Graduate School of International Social Sciences Department of International and Business Law, Yokohama National University
- Prof. Nobumasa Akiyama – Professor, Graduate School of Law, Hitotsubashi University, Japan
- Discussion and Q&A moderated by Mr. Tom Sutton – Project Manager, Country Programme Japan, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung
17:25 Closing Remarks by Mr. Paul Linnarz – Country Representative Japan & Director, Regional Economic Programme Asia (SOPAS), Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung
18:00 Buffet Reception on the occasion of the 70th Anniversary of the foundation of the German Armed Forces in the presence of Brigadier General Oliver Prost, Defense Intelligence Director, Chief of Division Armed Forces 4, upon invitation of H.E. Ambassador Petra Sigmund and The Defense Attaché Colonel (GS) Ralf Persicke
