[Japanese 日本語]

Prof. Satoshi IKEUCHI and Prof. Norito KUNISUE took part in, as presenters, the Day 2 of the Sun & Star Symposium in Japan 2026 on July 25, 2026, held at the International House of Japan co-organized by the Tower Center of the Southern Methodist University (SMU) and Institute of Geoeconomics (IOG).  [Please refer to SMU Tower Center website for the full program and the report covering the entire program]

Prof. Ikeuchi appeared on “Panel II: The Middle East,” delivering a presentation titled “Roles of Japan in the Formation of the Regional International Order in the Middle East” and taking part in the panel discussion. 

In his presentation and during the panel discussion, Prof. Ikeuchi analyzed the shifts in the regional order of the Gulf and the Middle East caused by the Iran War from the perspective of the shifting balance of power among regional and global actors. He examined the contexts on which the Iran War broke out, the nature of the negotiations between the U.S., Israel, and Iran as “coercive diplomacy,” and both the military losses Iran incurred and strategic advantages Iran gained as results of war. He conceptualized the current situation as follows: up until the period of the interim ceasefire and MoU agreed in Islamabad, Iran secured its status as one of the two bi-polar powers in the Persioan Gulf region and the “key-bearer of the Strait of Hormuz,” to which the United States has objected and contested with by asserting its own status as a “guardian” of equal or greater standing. Prof. Ikeuchi also presented his views on the immediate “winners” and “losers” of the Iran War from a strategic perspective, discussed the predicaments each of the Gulf Arab oil-producing nations (GCC countries) found themselves after the ceasefire, and proposed that Japan play a mediating role to foster coordination and cooperation among the oil-producing nations of the Persian Gulf region and among Asian energy-importing nations as well. He also analyzed the extent to which the regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran has been affected by the war through a conceptual distinction between “regime change,” “change within the regime,” and “change in the nature of the regime,” noting that all but “regime change” have already taken place. In the short term, he asserted, the  Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) consolidated its wartime collective leadership largely assissted by the elimination of clergical leadership by the U.S. and Israeli assassination campaigns. In the long term, he noted that the attacks have accelerated the dissolution of the ideological pillars of the Iran' Islamic Republican regime.

Prof. Kunisue made a presentation on the “Part 3: Europe” panel. His presentation was titled  “The Russia-Ukraine War and the Regional International Order of Europe.” At the beginning of his presentation, Prof. Kunisue, drawing on his on-the-ground reporting in Ukraine and European countries, presented a video-recording of the examples of Russian attacks on civilian facilities in Kiev and showed the public opinion poll result which shows still high percentages of public support in Ukraine for continuing the war. He then examined the impact of the Ukraine War on the regional order in Europe from the perspectives of both morality and the EU’s interests, focusing on how the rules-based international order which has been upheld by Europe is being threatened by the erosion of international law regarding human rights and humanitarian principles. In addition to the impact on morality resulting from the blatant infringement of the sanctity of human life and human rights, the discussion focused on the impact on European democracy caused by Russia’s hybrid warfare influencing populist parties in European countries and fueling their rise.