Civil-Military Coordination on Disaster Relief Operations of the Japan Self-Defense Forces at Home and Abroad

YCAPS & the Sasakawa Peace Foundation are pleased to announce the next event in the Community Conversations seminar series in the Iwakuni Community! This event will feature Dr. Saya Kiba as our main presenter along with Dr. Atsushi Yasutomi from Eikei University of Hiroshima who will provide some remarks after Dr. Kiba's presentation and kick off the Q&A portion of the day's event.

Most Japanese people believe that the Japan Self-Defense Forces(JSDF)’s most important and primary mission is domestic disaster relief operations. The JSDF’s ardent commitment to domestic disaster relief works has been highlighted in the media regularly, projecting it as a national hero in this disaster-prone country. JSDF members have also been engaged in emergency relief activities abroad in cooperation with other militaries, civilian agencies, and International NGOs. Dr. Kiba will discuss this important role of the JSDF in this talk.

This event is free and open to all in the Iwakuni and surrounding communities. Food and drinks will be provided.

Schedule:

• 17:45-18:30 Refreshments & Networking (food & drinks)
• 18:30-19:45 Presentation and Q&A
• 19:45-20:00 Post Event Conversing

Location:

Atago Sports Complex - Culture Center : Multi-purpose room

2 Chome Atagomachi, Iwakuni, Yamaguchi 740-0037
Facility website

Google Map

Registration: Optional via this form.

Speaker:

Dr. Saya KIBA is Associate Professor at Kobe City University of Foreign Studies. Her major fields of interest are Southeast Asian studies, civil-military relations, and security sector governance. She has experience as a practitioner, working in the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines and the Embassy of Japan in Thailand. She also served as a staff to Diet member/ former Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara from 2010 to 2012 when his Democratic Party of Japan was the ruling party. As a reservist of Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Forces (SDF), she is also conducting research on security sector governance in Japan through the lens of military sociology.

Discussant: 

Dr. Atsushi YASUTOMI is Associate professor at the Eikei University of Hiroshima. Dr. Yasutomi's major fields of interest are security studies and peace studies, his major research topics include peacebuilding in post-conflict states, focusing on specific issues such as community policing, and communication between community residents and irregular forces. He also researches public support towards military operations abroad and how that shapes defence and security policies in the new democratic states in Southeast Asia and beyond. Dr. Yasutomi graduated from the Department of Comparative Culture, Sophia University and he received his Ph.D. from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (University of Leuven, Belgium). Yasutomi’s earlier positions include: Researcher at Embassy of Japan in Bulgaria, field and station officer in international NGOs, Senior Researcher at Research Institute for Peace and Security (RIPS), and associate professor at Miyazaki International College. Among Dr. Yasutomi's publlished works, he co-authored “Civil-Military Cooperation Strategy for Disaster Relief in Japan - Missing in Disaster Preparedness”, Liaison, Vol. 7, Center for Excellency, US Pacific Command, Spring 2017.

Format: This event will be off-the-record.

Registration: Optional: google form
Moderators: Jeff Mazziotta

Co-Sponsor: Sasakawa Peace Foundation
Seminar Cost: Free of charge