SS-J Friends,

YCAPS is pleased to invite you to our next public seminar. It will be held on 5 Feb in partnership with Institute of Contemporary Asian Studies at Temple University Japan's Setagaya campus.

Thank you, John Bradford, President YCAPS


The Middle East Crisis: Implications for Japan and East Asia
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YCAPS-ICAS PUBLIC SEMINAR
Date & Time: 5 Feb (Wed), 2020 19:00-21:00

Location: The Parliament (1F), Temple University Japan Campus
1 Chome-14-29 Taishido, Setagaya City, Tokyo 154-0004

RSVP/Cost: Free of charge. Register on Facebook or send an email with your name and affiliation to info@ycaps.org. RSVP is recommended, but not necessary.

Abstract:
The killing of Iran's General Qassem Soleimani in Iraq on Jan. 3rd has precipitated what some are describing as the most serious high-risk tensions since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. Japan, China, and other East Asian countries are the largest customers for Middle East oil and gas. Iran's President Rouhani visited Japan in late December and Prime Minister Abe travelled to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Oman in January underlining the strong political and commercial ties between Japan and the region. Tokyo has committed to send additional Self Defense Forces to the region, and already started the deployment. Russia and China have also recently conducted joint naval exercises with Iran in the Indian Ocean. Our panel of experts will examine and discuss the implications for East Asia of these developments from geopolitical, energy security, military, and commercial perspectives.

About the speakers:
Kazuto Suzuki is Vice Dean and Professor of International Politics, Public Policy School, Hokkaido University. He graduated from the Department of International Relations of Ritsumekan University and received his Ph. D. from Sussex European Institute, University of Sussex. He served as an expert on the Panel of Experts for the Iranian Sanctions Committee under the UN Security Council from 2013 to 2015. He has served as president of the Japan Association of International Security and Trade.

Christopher Lamont is Associate Professor of International Relations at the Institute for International Strategy in Tokyo International University. He holds a Ph.D. in Politics from the University of Glasgow (2008) and M.Sc. in International and European Politics from the University of Edinburgh (2005) and a B.A. in International Studies from the University of Mississippi. Previously, Dr. Lamont was Assistant Professor of International Relations at the University of Groningen (2011-2018) and prior to that he was an R.C.U.K. postdoctoral fellow in the Transitional Justice Institute at the University of Ulster (2009-2011). He has also recently conducted fieldwork in Iraq, and in 2017 he was a guest lecturer at Imam Ja'afar al Sadiq University in Sawamah.

Tom O'Sullivan is founder and managing director of Mathyos Global Advisory. He has several decades of experience in energy and security policy