Research Unit on the New Persian Gulf Order

The origin of this newly established research unit goes back to November 2025, when the core members of this unit got together for the first time in one of the Gulf countries for a joint workshop involving institutions of Japan, the Gulf and Europe with various background, in the face of a looming crisis in the region.

After the preparation phase from March to May, the unit was officially established in June 2026.

This unit on the New Persian Gulf Order will conduct international and interdisciplinary observations and make recommendations regarding the new regional order emerging in the Gulf region in the wake of the War on Iran.

This unit will also examine global political, economic, and social changes—including those affecting East and Southeast Asia through energy security and geopolitical competition—resulting from the upheavals in the Gulf region, with a focus on global politics centered on the Middle East and West Asia.

Activity records

2026.06.20 (Sat.)

News

Publications and Reports

[Contribution] Koki Shigenoi Publishes Essay on the International Order after the Iran War

2026.06.04 (Thu.)

News

Publications and Reports

[Public Lecture] Report on the Keidanren Lecture by Dr. Sayed Ali Alavi

2026.04.27 (Mon.)

News

Announcements

[TV Commentary] Koki Shigenoi Discusses the Middle East affairs on NHK’s International News Report 2026

2026.04.24 (Fri.)

News

Announcements

[TV Commentary] Koki Shigenoi Discusses U.S.–Iran Ceasefire Negotiations on NIKKEI NEWS NEXT

2026.04.16 (Thu.)

News

Announcements

[Seminar] Satoshi Ikeuchi ＆ Koki Shigenoi Speak at JOI–AMT Seminar on Middle East Affairs and Geopolitical Risk

2026.04.02 (Thu.)

News

Publications and Reports

[Contribution] Koki Shigenoi Publishes Essay on the Iran War’s Shift toward a Protracted War of Attrition

2026.03.27 (Fri.)

News

Announcements

[TV Commentary] Satoshi Ikeuchi Discusses the Iran Situation and Gulf States on NHK’s Kokusai Hodo 2026

2026.03.17 (Tue.)

News

Announcements

[TV Commentary] Koki Shigenoi Comments on the Iran War on NIKKEI NEWS NEXT

2026.03.17 (Tue.)

News

Publications and Reports

[Contribution] Koki Shigenoi Publishes Essay on the Iran War’s Shift from a “Munitions Race” to a Protracted War of Attrition

2026.03.07 (Sat.)

News

Announcements

[TV Commentary] Prof. Satoshi Ikeuchi Commentated on the Situation of the Strait of Hormuz for the TV Asahi "Wide Scramble on Saturday"

2026.03.07 (Sat.)

News

Announcements

[TV Commentary] Prof. Satoshi Ikeuchi Commentated on the US-Israeli War on Iran for the BS TV-Tokyo "Nikkei on Saturday: News' Questions"

2026.03.04 (Wed.)

News

Publications and Reports

[Contribution] Koki Shigenoi Publishes Essay on the Constraints and Scenarios of the Iran War

Members

IKEUCHI, Satoshi

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.

WATANAVE, Hidenori

Professor of Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies, The University of Tokyo

TOYODA, Kohei

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

Seyed Ali Alavi

Assistant Professor of SOAS, University of London
Co-Chair of the Centre for Iranian Studies of SOAS
Senior Associate Member of ROLES

Dr Seyed Ali Alavi is currently Assistant Professor of the College of Humanities of the SOAS, University of London and Co-Chair of the Centre for Iranian Studies of SOAS. He has devoted himsdelf to the rigorous exploration of Middle East Studies and Global Foreign Policy Analysis.

Dr Seyed Ali leads the MA Iranian Studies programme, a distinguished course of study uniquely available through the School of Languages, Cultures, and Linguistics at SOAS.

He is also teaching modules of a wide variety of topics at SOAS, such as Remapping Area Studies in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, alongside other courses on Iran: History, Culture, and Politics, Palestine Studies, and Decolonising Otherness.

For details, please see his biography, profile and published works on the SOAS website.

[日本語 Japanese]

SHIGENOI, Koki

Associate Member of ROLES
Associated Researcher of RCAST, The University of Tokyo
Visiting Researcher, Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies, The University of Tokyo
Visiting Research Fellow, Institute of Geoeconomics (IOG)

Areas of Expertise:

International Politics

Islamic Political Thought

Economic Security

Prior to join UTokyo III-GSII, Koki Shigenoi held several research position include Al Jazeera Centre for Studies (2018-19), College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (2018-19), Intelligence and Analysis Services at Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (2019-20), Asia-Pacific Department at Konrad Adenauer Foundation (2020-21), National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) (2022-23), Graduate School of Public Policy at The University of Tokyo (UTokyo GraSPP) (2023-24).

Edited Volume

· Japan's Role for Southeast Asia Amidst the Great Power Competition: and its Implication to the EU-Japan Partnership. Hanoi: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, 2022.

Publication

· “Evaluating the effect of military intervention on rebel governance in terms of disaggregated human security.” (with Wakako Maekawa) Small Wars & Insurgencies 33/6 (2022): 1059-1084.

· “Strangeness and Strangers: An Annotated Translation and Introduction to Shāṭibī’s Iʿtiṣām.” [in Japanese] (with Nozomi Tajima) Journal of Global Studies 11 (2020): 339-372.

· “Strangeness and Strangers: A Translation and Introduction of a Hadīth Commentary on ‘Blessed Are the Strangers’ from Ibn Qayyim's Madārij al-Sālikīn.” [in Japanese] Journal of Global Studies 10 (2019): 191-225.

· “Strangeness and Strangers: Translation and Bibliographical Introduction on the Hadith Commentary Essay from “Majmūʿah al-Fatāwā” on “Blessed Are the Strangers” by Ibn Taymīyah.” [in Japanese] Journal of Global Studies 8 (2017): 177-204.

· “The New Geopolitics of the Middle East (Part 3 & 4) : Shifts in Regional Dynamics 2001-2023.” [in Japanese] Foresight. February 16, 2025.

· “The New Geopolitics of the Middle East (Part 1 & 2) : Syrian Revolution and Geopolitical Setback for Russia and Iran.” [in Japanese] Foresight. December 28, 2024.

· “Small Yard, High Fence.” The Berlin Pulse 2023/2024. pp. 16-17.

· “Economic Zeitenwende? Lessons from Japan’s Economic Security Policy.” 49 security. December 2022.

· “Japan’s Chinese lesson: diversifying only production is not enough.” (with Aya Adachi) Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS). November 2022.

· “Beyond Indo-Pacific, Toward Great Power Competition: German Indo-Pacific Engagement Under the New Government.” (with Kikyo Taguchi) Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. March 2022.

· “The Geo-economics of US-China Relations: What Does it Mean for ASEAN?” (with David Merkle) Diplomatic Briefing 4. February 2022. pp. 24-28.

Takuya Murakami

President/Senior Fellow of the Institute for Middle East Strategic Studies
ROLES Associate Member

He is a desciplined analyst on Gulf and Middle Eastern international affairs and security in the region.

After working as analyst in several governmental and private corporations including Research Fellow of the Middle East Institute of Japan (MEIJ) and Senior Research Analyst at Mitsubishi Corporation in Dubai. He established his own firm, the Institute for Middle East Strategic Studies which provides information analysis on the geopolitical situation in the Middle East to government agencies and corporations.

[日本語 Japanese]

TAKAHASHI, Masahide

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】

KOBAYASHI, Amane

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]

Mohammed Soliman

Director at McLarty Associates
Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute
Senior Associate Member of ROLES

Mohammed Soliman is a director at McLarty Associates and a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute. A trained engineer, Mr. Soliman works on strategic and policy issues at the intersection of technology, artificial intelligence, finance, and energy in emerging markets. He is the author of West Asia: A New American Grand Strategy in the Middle East (Polity Press, 2026). Soliman also serves as a non-resident senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and a visiting fellow with the National Security Program at Third Way. On X: @thisissoliman
[日本語 Japanese]

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