Kyoto University of the Arts
Kyoto Peacebuilding Center

At this session of the Hasegawa Peacebuilding Study Group, we welcomed Professor Chikako Hoshino, Visiting Professor at Higashi Nippon International University and columnist for “Exploring UN Art,” who delivered a detailed lecture on artworks donated by countries around the world to United Nations Headquarters as symbols of their hopes for peace. Her presentation carefully explored the “prayers for peace” embedded in these works and offered participants a valuable opportunity

Akira Igata, a Specially Appointed Lecturer at the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Tokyo, gave a lecture and led a discussion with students of the Hasegawa Academy on issues of “economic security,” such as the convergence of military and civilian technologies and the weaponization of interdependence currently facing the international community. (March 23, 2026) You can see a summary report below.

The Tokyo Peacebuilding Forum was held on Saturday, October 25, 2025, at JICA Global Plaza under the theme “80th Anniversary of the United Nations: Challenges and Future Prospects.” Please refer to the summary report below.

From left to right: Ambassador Toshiya Hoshino, JIU Inspector, Ms. Lidiya Grigoreva, Chef de Cabinet of the Director-General of the UN Office in Geneva, Mr. David Chikvaidze, former Chef de Cabinet, Mr. Michael Emery, Director of the Department of Human Resources, IOM, Ambassador Hoshino, Ms. Maika Oshikawa, Director, Accession Division, WTO, Mr. Chikvaidze, Mr. Sukehiro Hasegawa, Vice President, UN Association of Japan. See below for a preliminary programme. (17/1/2026)

Despite rapid advances in science and technology, conflicts persist worldwide. Why is the current United Nations unable to effectively prevent such tragedies? Mr. Hasegawa explained that the fundamental cause lied in “the very structure of the current United Nations” and the “conferral of sovereignty upon nation-states” based on the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia. The prevailing reality appeared to the public that a “United Nations by the States (We the States)” model, easily sway

At TEDxICU’s main event “ORBIT,” held at International Christian University (ICU) on December 20, 2025, Mr. Sukehiro Hasegawa—Special Professor at Kyoto University of the Arts and Vice Chair of the United Nations Association of Japan—delivered a talk arguing that the root causes of interstate war lie in today’s Westphalian international system. Hasegawa stated that the UN, as it operates today, is often shaped by the preferences of a small number of powerful states—what he de