About Us

　Sukehiro Hasegawa is the President of the Global Peacebuilding Association of Japan. He was the Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for Timor-Leste (2004-2006). He spent 37 years with the UN and served as UN Resident Coordinator in the South Pacific (1985-86), Rwanda (1995-96), and Timor-Leste (2002-2006). Deputy Executive Coordinator of the UN Volunteers in Geneva (1987-93), Manager of the UNV Electoral Officers in Cambodia (1993), and Director of Policy and Planning, UNOSOM II (1994). Deputy Assistant Administrator for Asia and the Pacific at UNDP New York (1096-99). Currently President, Global Peacebuilding Association of Japan (GPAJ), Director, ACUNS Tokyo Liaison Office, Director of the Kyoto Peacebuilding Center, and Executive Director for Academic Exchange, UN Association of Japan. BA from the University of Michigan, MA from the ICU in Tokyo, and Ph.D. from Washington University in St. Louis, USA.

　Dr. Ai Kihara-Hunt is Associate Professor, Graduate Program on Human Security, and Deputy Director, Research Center for Sustainable Peace, at the University of Tokyo. Previously she served for the UN Police Doctrinal Development Group, UN DPKO; UN OHCHR in Geneva and Nepal; UNHCR in Sri Lanka; Essex University’s Human Rights Centre; and UNTAET human rights office among other positions.

　Ayako Kobayashi is an Assistant Professor by special appointment in the Department of Global Studies at Sophia University. Previously, she was a Research Fellow at Harvard Kennedy Schoool’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Program Advisor at the Cabinet Office, and Political Affairs Officer at the Embassy of Japan in Sudan. Her research examines international politics, international organization, peace and conflict, and global governance. Kobayashi holds a Ph.D. in Law from Hitotsubashi University.

　Dr. Herman Salton is currently Associate Professor of International Relations at the International Christian University (ICU) in Tokyo, Japan, and specializing in international organizations, global ethics, international law, and the United Nations. He was educated at the Universities of Trento (Italy), Auckland (New Zealand), Wales (UK), and Oxford (UK), and holds two doctoral degrees, one in international law and the other in international relations. He was a visiting scholar at Sciences-Po Paris and TUJ Tokyo; an officer at the Icelandic Human Rights Centre in Reykjavik, Iceland; and briefly an Associate in the Under-Secretary-General’s Office at UN Headquarters in New York, USA. He has served as a Senior Adviser to the Center for Advanced Studies in South Asia (CASS) in Kathmandu, Nepal, and as Treasurer of the International Studies Association’s Asia-Pacific Section (ISA-AP). He is fluent in English, Italian, French and Spanish.

　Mr. Keiichi TANABE is Associate Professor, Department of International Studies, Tokai University. Previously, he served as Civil Affairs Officer of the United Nations Mission In South Sudan (UNMISS) from 2013 to 2014, Development Coordination Officer of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) from 2010 to 2013, Donor Relations Officer of the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) at Rome HQ from 2006 to 2007, Head of sub-office of WFP in Myanmar from 2005-2006, Emergency Operation Coordinator & Reporting Officer for Indian Ocean Tsunami affected area of WFP in Myanmar from 2004 to 2005. He obtained M.A from School of International and Public Affairs of Columbia University.

　Arbenita Sopaj is a Ph.D. candidate and Teaching Assistant at the Graduate School of International Cooperation Studies (GSICS), Kobe University. She obtained a dual BA and MA degree in International Relations and American Studies from College ISPE and Dardania College, Kosovo, in 2017. She is currently an External Liaison Officer at Global Peacebuilding Association Japan (GPAJ), Kyoto Peacebuilding Centre (KPC), and the Academic Council on United Nations System (ACUNS), Tokyo. She also is a lecturer and coordinator of the International Relations Office at Dardania College and a researcher at the Research Institute for Indo-Pacific Affairs (RIIPA).