Open Forum | THE SASAKAWA PEACE FOUNDATION

No.20 Webinar SPF China Observer, April 25, 2023

With signs that China is resuming nuclear testing in the country, in this first session of FY2023, we discussed signs of China's resumption of nuclear testing as well as their intentions and the implications that this will cause, by analyzing satellite images of the Lop Nur Nuclear Test Site in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

The speaker of this session was Yuki Kobayashi, SPF Research Fellow and author of “Signs of China’s Resumption of Nuclear Tests: Strong Determination to Bolster Nuclear Force and the Crisis of Nuclear Proliferation.” The discussant was Hiroyuki Akita, commentator of Nikkei. Additionally, SPF Senior Fellow Bonji Ohara moderated the discussion.

No.19 Webinar SPF China Observer, December 12, 2022

In this fifth FY2022 session, it has been argued that China's civilian plutonium is being diverted to military use. Given the arguments, we discussed China’s nuclear arms buildup by analyzing satellite images of nuclear fuel reprocessing facilities and fast breeder reactors.

The speaker of this session was Yuki Kobayashi, SPF Research Fellow and author of “China's Plutonium Production and Nuclear Arms Expansion.” The discussant was General (Ret.) Sadamasa Oue, Former Commander of Air Material Command Headquarters at the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF). Additionally, SPF Senior Fellow Bonji Ohara moderated the discussion.

No.18 Webinar SPF China Observer, November 4, 2022

In this fourth session of the FY2022 program, using satellite imagery, we analyzed the current situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and discuss potential concerns. The situation has become increasingly tense with the shelling of the plant. Also, there are discussions about the possibility of using the plant as a so-called “nuclear shield.”
In this session, the speaker was Mr. Yuki Kobayashi (Research Fellow, Sasakawa Peace Foundation), the author of the article "Current State of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and Concerns Going Forward” and the discussant was Mr. Yu Koizumi (Lecturer, Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo). Additionally, Mr. Bonji Ohara (Senior Fellow, Sasakawa Peace Foundation), moderated the discussion.

No.17 Webinar SPF China Observer, October 3, 2022

In this third FY2022 session, we discussed many implications and lessons for China in terms of diplomacy, military issues, the economy, and even domestic policy, which derives from Russia's struggle and the international community's reaction to its invasion of Ukraine, including raised stakes on the Taiwan issue in recent months.
The speaker was Prof. Ichiro Inoue of Kwansei Gakuin University and author of “Challenges for China Posed by the Ukraine War,” and the discussant was Prof. Akio Takahara of The University of Tokyo, who was also the editor of the SPF China Observer. Additionally, SPF Senior Fellow Bonji Ohara moderated the discussion.

No.16 Webinar SPF China Observer, September 21, 2022

In this second session in FY2022, we discussed China's attempt to increase the number of nuclear warheads in an uncertain manner under the circumstances that the significance of nuclear weapons and the effectiveness of nuclear disarmament are discussed by the invasion of Ukraine by Russia with using nuclear threat. The speaker was Mr. Yuki Kobayashi, Research Fellow of The Sasakawa Peace Foundation, and the discussant was Prof. Akio Takahara of The University of Tokyo, who was also the editor of the SPF China Observer. Additionally, Mr. Bonji Ohara, Senior Fellow of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, moderated the discussion.

No.15 Webinar SPF China Observer, April 27, 2022

SPF China Observer's first session of FY 2022 focued on Russia's invasion of Ukraine that began on February 24, and discussed China's perception regarding the current situation. The speaker was Prof. Kazuyuki Suwa of the University of Shizuoka, the author of "Draw a Clear Line with Putin’s Russia," and the discussant was Prof. Akio Takahara of The University of Tokyo, who was also the editor of the SPF China Observer. Additionally, Mr. Bonji Ohara, Senior Fellow of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, moderated the discussion.

No.14 Webinar SPF China Observer, October 29, 2021

In this fifth session, we focused on the issue of Peng Shuai case, which was currently attracting worldwide attention, discussed from the perspectives of politics, human rights and social movements. The speaker was Prof. Tomoko Ako of the University of Tokyo, who will publish an upcoming paper regarding the topics above, and the discussant was Prof. Akio Takahara of the University of Tokyo, who was also the editor of the SPF China Observer. Additionally, Mr. Bonji Ohara, Senior Fellow of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, was moderate the discussion.

No.13 Webinar SPF China Observer, November 18, 2021

The Sasakawa Peace Foundation has been conducting a project to publish research papers to analyze China's politics, economy, society, diplomacy, and security by Japanese experts through a satellite website, SPF China Observer. In May 2021, we launched a new project named "Satellite Imagery Analysis Project" on the same website and started analyzing various cases based on satellite images.
In this fourth session, we discussed the status of the Chinese Navy's naval shipbuilding, including the 003 aircraft carrier, the third ship of the Chinese Navy, based on the article "Satellite Imagery Analysis - Shanghai Jiangnan Shipyard", which was analyzed based on satellite images. The speaker was VADM (Ret. JMSDF) Tokuhiro Ikeda, the author of the above-mentioned article, and the discussant was Yasuhiro Kawakami, Senior Research Fellow, and the moderator was Bonji Ohara, Senior Fellow of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation.

No.12 Webinar SPF China Observer, October 29, 2021

The theme of the third event was the "New Party System," an institutional theory that complements the concept of "democracy with Chinese characteristics" advocated by the Xi administration. The speakers focused on Chinese politics since the establishment of the Xi Jinping administration, which is known as the "new era." They also discussed the significance of proposing the "New Party System," which stands in contrast to the "struggle between democracy and autocracy" advocated by U.S. President Biden.

No.11 Webinar SPF China Observer, September 27,2021

SPF held a webinar entitled "SPF China Observer: China's Perception of the Situation in Afghanistan" on September 27, 2021. This session, the second of its kind for fiscal year 2021, focused on the rapidly changing situation in Afghanistan, and discussed how to view it from the Chinese perspective, as well as China's perception of the situation in Afghanistan, including the withdrawal of U.S. forces. In the session, we welcomed Prof. Ichiro Inoue of Kwansei Gakuin University, author of "China's World View Against the New U.S. Administration," as the speaker, and Prof. Akio Takahara of the University of Tokyo, supervisor of the "SPF China Observer," as the discussant. Additionally, Mr. Bonji Ohara of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation moderated the discussion about focusing on the rapidly changing situation in Afghanistan.

No.10 Webinar SPF China Observer, June 21, 2021

This fourth session saw three experts Prof.
In the first public forum of FY 2021 on Jun 21 , Prof. Akio Takahara (University of Tokyo) and Prof. Ichiro Inoue (Kwansei Gakuin University) invited, and Mr. Bonji Ohara (Sasakawa Peace Foundation) moderated the discussion about why China is taking an assertive stance against the United States and the world view that is informing China's posture.

No.9 Webiner SPF China Observer, March 26, 2021

SPF China Observer (March 26, 2021)
The Sasakawa Peace Foundation, under the supervision of Professor Makoto Kawashima (University of Tokyo) and Professor Naohiro Kitano (Waseda University) , and Visting fellow Yasuo Onishi (The Japan Science and Technology Agency), has collected and analyzed data on China's foreign aid and investment, and visualized the data on a map for public viewing.
With this map application, you can get an idea of the trend of China's foreign investment. In this webinar, we analyzed the trends/characteristics of China's outward investment from the data of China's outward investment, and discussed the implications.

No.8 Webinar SPF China Observer, January 25, 2021

This fourth session saw three experts Prof. Akio Takahara (University of Tokyo), Prof. Kazuyuki Suwa (University of Shizuoka) and Mr. Bonji Ohara (Senior Fellow of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation) discuss the implications of the Biden Presidency for the US-China’s ever-intensifying conflict amid the global pandemic, as well as China’s awareness and potential actions and responses in coming months.

No.7 Webinar SPF China Observer, November 30,2020

For our 2020 webinar series’ third session, we invited Prof. Akio Takahara (University of Tokyo) and Dr. Naoko Eto (Associate Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Developing Economies, JETRO), along with Sasakawa Peace Foundation’s Senior Fellow Mr. Bonji Ohara to examine the ways in which China attempted at increasing its influence in the international community by displaying the country’s handling of Covid-19 and also through mask diplomacy, with a focus on China’s so-called “discourse power” previously elaborated in Dr. Eto’s paper.

No.6 Webinar SPF China Observer, September 7,2020

On our second round of the webinar in 2020, Prof. Akio Takahara of the University of Tokyo, Prof. Tomoki Kamo of Keio University, and Mr. Bonji Ohara, Senior Fellow of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation got together to discuss how to perceive China's external posture, what kind of changes to observe in the country's policymaking process and so on with a focus on “unified leadership” argued in Prof. Kamo’s paper, especially when China’s hardline external stance or claims are said to be increasingly obvious as seen in their mask diplomacy and handling of Hong Kong.

No.5 Webinar SPF China Observer, July 27,2020

In 2020, the Sasakawa Peace Foundation’s SPF China Observer has been offering experts’ analyses through our China Observer website in various fields concerning the impact of Covid-19 on Chinese politics, economics, society, diplomacy and security, as well as the US-China political war and the international order. With the desirable post-pandemic mode of communication in mind, we intend to further deepen these analyses through discussions, and continue to publish the contents via online for the society at large.
For the first session of the webinar (July 27, 2020), we invited Prof. Akio Takahara of the University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Public Policy, for a discussion with Mr. Bonji Ohara, Senior Fellow of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation on the significance of interdisciplinary examination connecting different situations in Chinese politics, economics, society, diplomacy and security, based on our previously published Covid-19 related studies.

No.4 The Implications of China-Russia Military Cooperation

On September 4, 2019, the Sasakawa Peace Foundation hosted the public forum SPF China Observer, “The Implications of China-Russia Military Cooperation.” China has issued its National Defense White Paper for the first time in the last four years, on July 24, 2019. It revealed that China has made up its mind to adopt a confrontational stance against the U.S. However, China is trying to portray this confrontation as that between the U.S. and the international community and has been seeking cooperation with other states. Among them, China-Russia relations are exceptionally close. The two are to further deepen military cooperation, and a joint patrol mission by aircraft from both states has carried out on July 23. What is the China-Russia military cooperation, a matter that greatly concerns the security environment surrounding Japan? The forum featured a discussion between Mr. Yu Koizumi, Project Assistant Professor of the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo, and an expert on military affairs and security of Russia and China, and Mr. Bonji Ohara, Senior Fellow of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation.

No.3 A new U.S.-China Cold War? A look at China’s true intentions

On July 24, 2019, SPF hosted a public forum entitled “SPF China Observer: A new U.S.-China Cold War? A look at China’s true intentions.” From escalating trade frictions to technological competition, the ongoing confrontation between the U.S. and China continues to affect not only economic relations, but also spans into the security and political realms as well.
In the face of extreme pressure from the U.S., China also appears to be setting the stage for a long-term battle. Given these circumstances, what are China’s ultimate objectives, and how will the country act moving forward? To address these questions and more, the forum assembled a panel of specialists in Chinese politics, economics, society, diplomacy, and security for in-depth discussions.

No.2 Public forum: SPF China Observer, “China in Turmoil”

On September 29, 2018, the Sasakawa Peace Foundation hosted the public forum SPF China Observer, “China in Turmoil”. On this occasion of the first anthology publication, the SPF invited contributing authors for a discussion about “China in Turmoil”.

No.1 Panel dicussion: China’s Foreign Policy – Implications of the New Era

The Sasakawa Peace Foundation’s project, the study of contemporary China – “SPF China Observer” –, held a public forum on March 6, 2018. In the midst of a power shift said to be underway due to the “rise of China,” this forum aimed to understand China’s foreign policy and discuss changes in the international order as well as how to respond to these changes.
The forum featured a discussion between Ms. Bonnie Glaser, director of the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS); Prof. Akio Takahara of the University of Tokyo; and Mr. Bonji Ohara, Senior Fellow of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation.