On 11 February 2026, YCAPS hosted a Community Conversations event in Fussa on the political turmoil in Iran that has recently been an extremely hot topic since the December 28 anti-regime protests. Prof. László Csicsmann, from the Corvinus University of Budapest discussed the December 28 protest as well as ongoing protests and the regime's reaction since then as well as the history of protest in Iran. He led the discussion amonst a group of 11 Fussa community members including service members, local Japanese and foreign residents as well as YCAPS members.
Members were able to understand the political turmoil in Iran much more deeply through Prof. Csicsmann's presentation including a look at what type of people were protesting initially as well as currently and comparing that to previous protests in Iran's history as well as more broadly internationally. The group also looked at forms of communication during the protest and government crackdown as well as how these types of protest are covered by media both within the nation and externally. The group had an active and dynamic discussion during the Q&A session where the audience could have a relaxed and comfortable conversation on the topic due to the small group atmosphere and excellent handling of the discussion by our speaker.
YCAPS was glad to host Prof. Csicsmann and the deep discussion during the QA sesssion truly highlighted the value to the community of a discussion over important topics like this one.
