Dialogue Held with Swedish Delegation on Influence Operations

On Friday, November 15, the Security Studies Program at Sasakawa Peace Foundation (SPF) welcomed a Swedish delegation led by Dr. Magnus Hjort, Director General of the Swedish Psychological Defence Agency. Participants engaged in a lively and fruitful discussion on influence operations and disinformation in Europe, Japan and the Asia-Pacific.

The meeting was part of SPF’s ongoing efforts to address the ever-growing cyber security challenges in Japan and the Asia-Pacific. Disinformation efforts, which we monitor in Japanese through our Disinformation Portal, might appear trivial at first glance, but they can become a powerful tool of cognitive warfare, aimed at influencing public thought and deepen societal divisions to gain strategic advantages over other countries.    
The discussion with our Swedish guests focused on disinformation in Japan and explored how objectives and techniques differ between the Asia-Pacific and Europe.