Research Project for Risks in the Information Sphere
Purpose
The objectives of the project are to enhance understanding of the situation surrounding information warfare and to develop effective countermeasures, strategies, and ways of international cooperation. The research project started in FY2023 and is scheduled to run for three years. "Hybrid warfare," which represents modern methods of warfare, involves information warfare conducted during peacetime with the aim of disturbing and weakening society through the manipulation of information. In this project, we will (1) monitor the information space and create infographics to inform and warn about the situation of information warfare, and (2) conduct comparative research on the measures taken by each country against information warfare. Subsequent to employing pilot tests during the process of developing tools for countermeasures, we will make policy recommendations on effective measures and ways to facilitate international cooperation to address information warfare. As part of "information space monitoring," we will conduct "crawling," or collect and analyze social media content, and monitor information spaces such as news databases, Twitter (X), and Yahoo comment sections to visualize where disinformation is being disseminated in the world. For development of "information warfare response tools," we will collect information on countermeasures against information warfare, particularly focusing on Taiwan, as well as the United States, United Kingdom, and others in order to contribute to the development of effective tools in Japan. Further, the research group will study and make recommendations on strategies for international cooperation. In addition to conducting research sessions among the members, the group will conduct awareness-raising activities including publishing articles in online-media and newspapers and magazines, holding public and closed seminars, disseminating information in Japanese and English on the Nakasone Peace Institute website, and organizing opportunities to brief members of the media.
Members (honorifics omitted)
- Chairman：Osawa Jun, Senior Fellow, Nakasone Peace Institute
- Kawaguchi Takahisa, Principal Researcher, Tokio Marine dR Co., Ltd.
- Miyazaki Yoko, Tokyo Office Director, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology
/ Ex-Senior Research Fellow, SmartNews Media Research Institute - Fuse Satoru, Executive Chief Fellow, Institute for International Socio-Economic Studies
- Tsuchiya Takahiro, Associate Professor, Kyoto University of Advanced Science
- Mochinaga Dai, Associate Professor, Shibaura Institute of Technology
- Nagasako Tomoko, Research Fellow, Information-technology Promotion Agency
- Suzuki Ryohei, Doctoral Course Student, Hitotsubashi University
- Kawanishi Yohei, Research Fellow, Nakasone Peace Institute
- Yasue Mariko, Senior Research Fellow, Nakasone Peace Institute
Study Group Activities
1st meeting June 25, 2025
Theme： China's Narratives Toward Japan, and Malign Influence and Disinformation on Okinawa/Ryukyu
Reporter: Yasue Mariko, Senior Research Fellow, Nakasone Peace Institute
July 18, 2025
Theme： Japan's Resilience in Hybrid Warfare - Exchange of Views with Center for Strategic and International Studies(CSIS),
Joint Research Meeting with Maritime Security Study Group
2nd meeting July 23, 2025
Theme： Foreign Malign Influence on SNS space in Japan's House of Councilor's Elections
3rd meeting September 17, 2025
Theme：China's Information Warfare and Cognitive Warfare Aimed at Driving a Wedge Between Japan and Taiwan
Reporter: Nagasako Tomoko, Researcher, Office of Cyber Domain Awareness, Information-technology Promotion Agency, Japan (IPA)
4th meeting October 15, 2025
Theme：The 80th Anniversary of the End of World War II and Russia's "Historical War" Against Japan on Social Media
Reporter: Kawanishi Yohei, research Fellow, Nakasone Peace Institute
Theme: Social media activity surrounding the LDP presidential election
Reporter: Osawa Jun, Senior Fellow, Nakasone Peace Institute
5th meeting November 19, 2025
Theme：Countermeasures Against Foreign Disinformation and Public Opinion Manipulation in Social Media Spaces
Reporter: Yasue Mariko, Senior Research Fellow, Nakasone Peace Institute
6th meeting December 17, 2025
Theme：AI and Intelligence: Applications in Cognitive Warfare
Reporter: Ishii Junya, eopolitical Analyst; Project Manager, Applied Team, Sakana AI Co., Ltd.
7th meeting Februaly 18, 2026
Theme：A Study on the Viewing and Dissemination of Information in Social Media Spaces
Reporter: Yasue Mariko, Senior Research Fellow, Nakasone Peace Institute
8th meeting March 18, 2026
Theme：A Study on the Viewing and Dissemination of Information in Social Media Spaces
Reporter: Yasue Mariko, Senior Research Fellow, Nakasone Peace Institute
Webinars
January 21, 2026 10:00-11:30
Moderator
Osawa Jun, Senior Research Fellow, Nakasone Peace Institute; Leader, Research Project for Risks in the Information Sphere
Presentations
- "Influence Operations (FIMI), Information Warfare, and Cognitive Warfare: The Emerging Cognitive Domain Crisis in Japan"
Osawa Jun, Chair, Research Project; Senior Fellow, NPI - "AI × Intelligence: Applications in Cognitive Warfare"
Ishii Junya, eopolitical Analyst; Project Manager, Applied Team, Sakana AI Co., Ltd.
Discussion and Q&A Session
- Tsuchiya Takahiro, Professor, Institute for Liberal Arts and Sciences, Kyoto University of Foreign Studies
- Nagasako Tomoko, Researcher, Office of Cyber Domain Awareness, Information-technology Promotion Agency, Japan (IPA)
- Fuse Satoru, Executive Chief Fellow, Institute for International Socio-Economic Studies (IISE)
- Miyazaki Yoko, Tokyo Office Director, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology; Former Senior Research Fellow, SmartNews Media Research Institute
- Mochinaga Dai, Associate Professor, Cybersecurity Laboratory, College of Systems Engineering and Science, Shibaura Institute of Technology
- Suzuki Ryohei, Doctoral student, Graduate School of Law and International Relations, Hitotsubashi University
*This study is funded by a grant from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan for research and study on diplomacy and security projects adopted in FY2023.