Energy Analyst
Representative Manager of Friday Forum 
Senior Associate Member of ROLES

Founding Chair of ROLES and Professor of Religion and Global Security of RCAST of the University of Tokyo

Satoshi Ikeuchi is Professor of the Division of Religion and Global Security at the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology (RCAST) of the University of Tokyo. He is the founding chairperson of the RCAST Open Laboratory for Emergence Strategies (ROLES).

He is a scholar on Islamic political thought and the Middle East politics. As a leading public intellectual in Japan, he has been vigorously publishing on the Middle East and Islamic affairs.

His first publication based on his doctoral studies, Gendai Arabu-no Shakai Shiso: Shumatsuron-to Isramu-shugi (Contemporary Arab Social Thought: Eschatology and Islamism), was published in 2002 and earned Osaragi Jiro Prize for Critical Works. He also earned Suntory Prize for Social Sciences and Humanities in 2009 for his book Islamu Sekai-no Ronjikata (Methods of Discussing Islam).

His book on the Islamic State Isulamu Koku no Shogeki (The Impact of the Islamic State) published in January 2015 was a nation-wide best seller in Japan and awarded Mainichi Publishing Cultural Prize. His recent publication includes Saikusu Piko Kyotei: Hyakunen no Jubaku (Sykes-Picot Agreement: One Hundred Years of Obsession) in 2016 and Shiiaha to Sunniha (Shite and Sunnite) in 2018 both published from Shinchosha. He is the recipient of the 12th Nakasone Yasuhiro Prize in 2016 for his academic works and social engagements.

His collection of literary essays and book reviews Shomotsu not Unmei (The Fate of Books) published in 2006 and earned Mainichi Book Review Award for the year.

He was a visiting professor at the Alexandria University 2007-2008, Japan Scholar chair visiting scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in 2009 and Visiting Fellow at the Clare Hall, University of Cambridge in 2010. 

For the year 2022-2023, he was Senior Visiting Scholar in Residence at the Moshe Dayan Center (MDC) for Middle Eastern and African Studies of Tel Aviv University. He was also affiliated with the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) as a Senior Visiting Fellow on July 2023.

Associate Member of ROLES
Associated Researcher of RCAST, University of Tokyo

Working Group 2 on Middle Eastern and Islamic Alternatives

Working Group 5 on Indo-Pacific Transport Security (Assistant Coordinator)

Sub-Working Group 2 on Tabletop Exercises (Assistant Coordinator)

Twitter: @toyodadesuyo

Associate Professor of Musashino University Faculty of Data Science
Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Mediation Support

Amane KOBAYASHI, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Musashino University in its Faculty of Data Science and concurrently a Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Mediation Support.
He was Senior Researcher at the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan (IEEJ). His expertise includes the politics and security of the Middle East and North Africa with a special focus on Libya, as well as regional energy geopolitics. From 2021 to 2023, He served as Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Japan in Libya. He has previously held research positions at the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA), the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), and Keio University. He holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Media and Governance from Keio University, Japan.

[日本語 Japanese]

Guest Research Fellow, Institute of Islamic Area Studies, Sophia University
Associate Member of ROLES

After working for MOFA and JICA as analyst, Mr. Takahashi took up the post of Senior Research Fellow at the Middle East Institute of Japan (MEIJ). Currently he works for a private energy corporation occasionally stationed in the Gulf.

【日本語 Japanese】