Institute Updates
This page records selected institutional developments, publications, academic engagements, and other formal updates relating to the Tobisawa Institute.
It is intended as a concise public record of the Institute’s continuing work.
Participation in the SSEASRC–CSSPR Online Symposium
9 April 2026
The Tobisawa Institute notes the participation of its Founder and Director, Dr Kazuhiro Tobisawa, in the SSEASRC–CSSPR Online Symposium held on 9 April 2026 by the South and South East Asia Security Research Centre, University of Buckingham / BUCSIS, in collaboration with the Centre for Security, Strategy and Policy Research, University of Lahore.
He spoke from Tokyo on the theme “Regional Conflict and Wider War in East Asia: A Japanese Perspective,” addressing the strategic implications of the Taiwan Strait, the Korean Peninsula and North Korea, and Japan’s south-western islands and maritime security.
This participation formed part of the Institute’s continuing engagement with diplomacy and international security.
Publication of the Institute’s Institutional History Page
1 May 2026
The Tobisawa Institute has published its Institutional History page.
The page was prepared in order to give a more formal public account of the longer academic, intellectual, and institutional background from which the Institute emerged. It brings together selected milestones in the development of Japan-UK academic exchange, publication, and related institutional work that now form part of the Institute’s continuing record.
The page may be accessed here:
Institutional History
Publications Page Released
5 July 2026
The Tobisawa Institute has released a dedicated Publications page on its official website.
The page records the Institute’s publication-related work, including Dr Kazuhiro Tobisawa’s 2018 book,
The Influence of Civil Society on Japanese Nuclear Disarmament Policy, and the forthcoming new edition,
Legacy and Prospects: Civil Society in Japanese Nuclear Disarmament Policy – Ethical Realism and Diplomacy.
It also records the international distribution of the 2018 edition and verified library holdings identified through publicly accessible catalogues and bibliographic records.
The Publications page forms part of the Institute’s continuing work to preserve and develop the intellectual record of diplomacy, international security, civil society, nuclear disarmament policy, global governance, ethical realism, and Japan-UK academic engagement initiated in 2008.
The page may be accessed here:
Honorary Distinctions Page Released
8 July 2026
The Tobisawa Institute has released a dedicated Honorary Distinctions page on its official website.
The page records the Institute’s honorary distinctions and the individuals recognised for outstanding academic or intellectual achievement, distinguished public service, long-standing association, valued friendship, and special contribution to the Institute and its mission.
The distinctions comprise Honorary Advisors, Honorary Fellows, Honorary Members, and Special Recognition. Each category reflects a distinct form of achievement, service, or association and is conferred with care and discretion.
The page forms part of the Institute’s continuing work to preserve an accurate and enduring institutional record of the individuals whose scholarship, public service, guidance, friendship, and goodwill have contributed to its development.
The page may be accessed here:
Legacy and Prospects Published by the University of Buckingham Press
17 July 2026
The Tobisawa Institute is pleased to announce the publication of Legacy and Prospects: Civil Society in Japanese Nuclear Disarmament Policy – Ethical Realism and Diplomacy by Dr Kazuhiro Tobisawa, Founder and Director of the Institute.
Published by the University of Buckingham Press on 9 July 2026, the volume is the substantially revised and expanded second edition of Dr Tobisawa’s 2018 book, The Influence of Civil Society on Japanese Nuclear Disarmament Policy.
The new edition re-examines the role and influence of civil society in the development of Japan’s nuclear disarmament policy, while extending the analysis to changing international conditions, the relationship between state and non-state actors, and the responsibilities involved in diplomatic and security judgement.
It also develops the concept of ethical realism as an analytical approach that takes power, national interests, and security constraints seriously, while maintaining the importance of responsible judgement and ethical agency in international affairs.
The publication forms part of the Institute’s continuing work in diplomacy, international security, global governance, civil society, and ethical realism. It also represents a further intellectual outcome of the Japan-UK academic engagement initiated in 2008.
[Publication details]
Kazuhiro Tobisawa,
Legacy and Prospects: Civil Society in Japanese Nuclear Disarmament Policy – Ethical Realism and Diplomacy
Second Edition
University of Buckingham Press, 2026
ISBN: 978-1-918291-89-6
The page may be accessed here:
Tobisawa Institute Launches Official LinkedIn Page
22 July 2026
Tobisawa Institute has launched its official LinkedIn Page as part of the continued development of its institutional communications.
The Page will provide selected updates on the Institute’s research activities, publications, honorary distinctions, institutional partnerships and Japan–UK academic engagement.
The official LinkedIn Page is available here:
Tobisawa Institute and BUCSIS Sign Memorandum of Understanding
2 August 2026
Tobisawa Institute and the University of Buckingham Centre for Security and Intelligence Studies (BUCSIS) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on academic collaboration and institutional cooperation on 21 July 2026.
The MOU establishes a formal framework for future academic collaboration and institutional cooperation between the two organisations.
The agreement builds upon a longstanding academic relationship between the University of Buckingham and Japan-based initiatives developed since 2008, and marks an important step in placing this relationship on a clear institutional foundation.
Tobisawa Institute will continue to promote selective, substantive and sustainable international academic partnerships in accordance with its mission as an independent intellectual and institutional platform.
Tobisawa Institute Introduces Its Current Research Affiliates
4 October 2026
The Tobisawa Institute has formally introduced its current Research Affiliates on the Institute’s website.
The Research Affiliate scheme reflects the Institute’s selective approach to academic affiliation, bringing together scholars whose expertise complements its long-term research agenda and international intellectual network. The affiliation is intended to sustain long-term intellectual relationships, scholarly exchange, and, where appropriate, selected areas of research collaboration, while each Affiliate retains institutional and intellectual independence.
The Institute’s current Research Affiliates are:
Dr Nancy Zulu
Her research interests include international economic law, regulation and governance, and legal and policy analysis.
Dr Vassilis (Bill) Kappis
Adjunct Professor at the Brussels School of Governance and Senior Research Fellow at the Laboratory for Geocultural Analyses (GEOLab), Ionian University. His research focuses on international security, foreign policy decision-making, interstate security crises, political psychology, great-power rivalries, and the Eastern Mediterranean.
Dr Tanvi Pate
Lecturer in Security and Intelligence Studies at the University of Buckingham and Panel Tutor in International Relations at the University of Cambridge Professional and Continuing Education. Her research interests include contemporary geopolitics, security and intelligence, great power–rising power relations, and India’s role in the global order.
Dr Muhammad Tahir Mahmood
Research Fellow at the University of Buckingham Centre for Security and Intelligence Studies (BUCSIS). His research focuses on counter-terrorism, criminal justice and law-enforcement institutions, security and intelligence agencies, and security policy.
The Research Affiliates page provides further information on each scholar’s academic background, qualifications, and research interests.
The page may be accessed here:
A Reunion with Mr Mitsuo Sakai
— Reflections on A Century of Desire and Consumerism
23 October 2026
On 23 October 2026, the Founder of Tobisawa Institute met again with Mr Mitsuo Sakai, a distinguished Japanese marketing consultant and author, in Tokyo. Ms Keiko Imachi, an Honorary Fellow of the Institute, also attended the meeting. Mr Sakai previously attended the University of Buckingham Vice-Chancellor's Special Commemorative Lecture held in Tokyo in 2023 and has maintained an interest in the Founder's longstanding Japan–UK academic engagement.
Mr Sakai's latest book, 欲望と消費の100年史――日本のマーケティングをめぐる物語 (A Century of Desire and Consumerism: A Story of Marketing in Japan, Nikkei Publishing, 2026), offers a detailed historical examination of Japanese consumer behaviour and aspirations over approximately a century, from the country's modernisation through rapid post-war economic growth, the speculative economic bubble of the 1980s, subsequent stagnation and the digital age.
Drawing on his extensive professional experience in marketing, Mr Sakai examines consumption not merely as a series of commercial transactions but as a reflection of changing social values, aspirations and perceptions of prosperity.
One of the book's important contributions is its exploration of the relationship between human desire and the wider social environment. Consumer aspirations are influenced by economic conditions, technological developments, social institutions, the media and corporate activities. At the same time, businesses do more than respond to existing demand: through innovation and the creation of new products, services and ways of life, they also contribute to shaping consumer expectations and behaviour.
Seen from this perspective, the history of consumption provides an illuminating account of Japan's broader social transformation. The book also invites reflection on the future of consumer society and the responsibilities of businesses in creating value amid changing human aspirations.
While Tobisawa Institute's principal research interests lie in diplomacy, international security and international relations, the Institute also values intellectual engagement across disciplinary boundaries. Exchanges with scholars and experienced practitioners from different fields contribute to a broader understanding of society, institutions and human behaviour.
For Tobisawa Institute, the reunion was a valuable opportunity to strengthen an established relationship and encourage further intellectual exchange. The Institute extends its sincere appreciation to Mr Sakai.
Tobisawa Institute Launches Academic Dialogues Series
30 October 2026
A Series of Scholarly Research Papers
The Tobisawa Institute launched Tobisawa Institute Academic Dialogues: A Series of Scholarly Research Papers on 25 October 2026.
The series is dedicated to the publication of original scholarly research addressing substantive questions in international politics, diplomacy, international security, international law, global governance and related fields.
It provides a platform for independent academic contributions and structured exchanges between researchers, encouraging rigorous argumentation, critical examination and the development of scholarly perspectives.
The inaugural research project, provisionally entitled Law, Power and Constraint in International Economic Governance, brings together Dr Nancy Zulu (Research Affiliate, Tobisawa Institute) and Dr Kazuhiro Tobisawa.
The project examines the relationship between international law and state power, with particular attention to legal constraints, national security exceptions, state discretion and the effectiveness of international institutions in economic governance.
The research is being developed through a series of written scholarly contributions and responses, allowing both researchers to advance and critically examine their respective arguments.
The completed work will be published as part of the Institute's academic publication series and made publicly available through its official website.