YCAPS - Yokosuka Council on Asia-Pacific Studies

Call for Chapter Proposals 📢

For the 175th anniversary of Commodore Matthew Perry’s arrival in Japan, we’re seeking proposals for Commodore Perry and the Black Ships Legacy.

Details: www.perry175.org/edited-volume

#callforpapers #PerryBlackShips #JapaneseHistory #USJapan

📢YCAPS presents its second Pacific Connect webinar, focused on deep-sea mining in the Pacific

The conversation will examine the scientific, regulatory, and community dimensions of the issue.

Register:
www.ycaps.org/pc-deep-sea-...

#DeepSeaMining #OceanGovernance #IndoPacific

Perry 175 Perry 175 is a collaborative initiative dedicated to remembering, celebrating, and reflecting on the 175th anniversary of Commodore Matthew Perry’s expedition to Japan

Join Perry 175, YCAPS' new campaign to commemorate the 175th anniversary of Commodore Perry’s expedition to Japan.

This initiative reflects on diplomacy, maritime engagement, and shared history through 2028.

Info: www.perry175.org

#YCAPS #USJapan #Diplomacy #IndoPacific #History #USJapanAlliance

Call for Applications! Maritime GENIE Cohort 3 Yokosuka Council on Asia-Pacific Studies (YCAPS), in collaboration with the Taiwan Ocean Affairs Council (TOAC), is pleased to announce the 3rd cohort of the Maritime Governance Em

Apply to Maritime GENIE Cohort 3!
Deadline: March 1, 2026

YCAPS and the Taiwan Ocean Affairs Council invite emerging professionals to this maritime governance leadership program. Open to all nationalities.

#YCAPS #MaritimeGENIE #MaritimeGovernance #Taiwan #IndoPacific #CallForApplications

Thai Navy Seizes Cambodian Fishing Boat in Disputed Waters Phnom Penh denounced the capture of the vessel and its crew as “an unauthorized incursion” into Cambodian territorial waters.

#Thailand–#Cambodia tensions flare after Thai navy seizes Cambodian fishing boat in disputed waters—maritime sovereignty, rules of engagement, and escalation risks back in focus

Sebastian Strangio, past YCAPS speaker 👇
thediplomat.com/2026/02/thai...

@thediplomat.com

Event TODAY📢

YCAPS hosts Eyck Freymann discussing deterrence, technology, and industrial capacity in the Indo-Pacific

Co-moderated by Robert Dujarric and @marsecbradford.bsky.social

Register: www.ycaps.org/arsenal-of-d...

#BookTalk #IndoPacific #Deterrence #SecurityStudies #DefenseIndustry

📢Event reminder

Benjamin Blandin discusses China’s growing use of unmanned, hybrid, and unconventional naval platforms in the Indo-Pacific.

Moderated by @marsecbradford.bsky.social

Register: www.ycaps.org/maritime-hou...

#Maritime #Taiwan #China #HybridWarfare #UnmannedVehicles

🍺YCAPS Pub Talk: “Toward a More Multicultural, Yet Still Harmonious, Japan?”

A focused discussion on Japan’s evolving immigration debate and social cohesion

New speaker added: Timothy Langley

More info below👇
www.ycaps.org/multicultura...

📢Event Reminder

YCAPS Indo-Pacific Maritime Hour continues with Benjamin Blandin on #China’s growing use of unmanned & hybrid naval platforms to assert control and create faits accomplis at sea

Moderated by @marsecbradford.bsky.social

Register: www.ycaps.org/maritime-hou...

#Marsec #Taiwan

📘 YCAPS–ICAS Talk: The Arsenal of Democracy

How can tech, industry, and allies sustain deterrence amid intensifying US–China competition?

Author Eyck Freymann on defense industry and the future of deterrence

Register below👇
www.ycaps.org/arsenal-of-d...

#Defense #IndoPacific

📕YCAPS is pleased to announce the Alliance Handbook Series with the usstudiescentre.bsky.social

1) US-Japan
@marsecbradford.bsky.social @mikebosack.bsky.social

2) Australia-Japan
@mikebosack.bsky.social

3) US- Australia
@bdherzinger.bsky.social

Access below👇
www.ycaps.org/alliance-han...

📢If you would like to get notified for upcoming YCAPS events and other news from YCAPS, don't forget to sign up for our mailing list!

📢Call for Applications: Maritime GENIE Cohort 3. The #Taiwan Maritime GENIE Program is now open

The program combines expert-led webinars with in-person engagement in Taiwan, focusing on maritime governance

Apply here: www.ycaps.org/blog/taiwan-...

#marsec #Policy

🍺REMIDNER: YCAPS Pub Talk tonight in Ebisu!

A conversation with filmmaker and journalist Shiori Itō and producer Eric Nyari on the making and international distribution of the award-winning documentary Black Box Diaries

www.ycaps.org/black-box-de...

#DocumentaryFilm #JapaneseCinema

🍺YCAPS Pub Talk: Toward a More Multicultural, Yet Still Harmonious Japan?

Is Japan rethinking its approach to foreign nationals—and can rights and social cohesion be balanced?

Register👇
www.ycaps.org/multicultura...

📢YCAPS Community Conversation Series: Political Turmoil in Iran : Consequences for Asia & the Globe

Prof. László Csicsmann examines Iran’s internal crisis and its regional and global fallout

Register via link below👇
www.ycaps.org/cc-fussa-feb...

#Iran #MiddleEast #Geopolitics

Improving Indonesia’s Submarine Cable Resilience | FULCRUM Indonesia has a growing network of subsea communications cables. It needs to ramp up its capacity to bolster the resilience of such critical networks.

🇮🇩 Indonesia’s digital future runs through the seabed—but its submarine cable network remains dangerously exposed

I Gusti Bagus Dharma Agastia, YCAPS Research Fellow 👇
fulcrum.sg/improving-in...

#Indonesia #DigitalInfrastructure #MaritimeSecurity #SubmarineCables

Takaichi’s political landscape for 2026 Unlike her predecessors who were consistently forced to address turmoil over the past two years, Prime Minister Takaichi will have time and capital to tackle real policy issues.

🇯🇵 Japan enters 2026 with rare political stability under PM Sanae Takaichi—but weak coalition politics, Trump-era uncertainty, and economic pressures loom

@mikebosack.bsky.social , YCAPS Special Adviser 👇
www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2...

@japantimes.co.jp
#JapanElection #Politics

🇮🇳🇯🇵 #India, #Japan & 10 Years of the Free & Open Indo-Pacific

Don't miss this special conference where leading scholars and policymakers will discuss India–Japan strategic convergence, and future directions

Register below 👇
www.ycaps.org/ycaps-india-...

#marsec #IndoPacific

📢 WEBINAR: Beer in Japan🍺

Part of YCAPS’ Getting to Know Japan series

John Chesen traces how beer developed from the Meiji-era to today’s craft revival and big-four dominance in Japan

Link below👇
www.ycaps.org/gtkj-beer-in...

#Japan #Beer #JapaneseCulture

📢 EVENT ALERT :

Will the Rules-based Order Survive Beyond Trump 2.0?

A YCAPS Community Conversation with Benjamin Ho examining how shifting US conceptions of the rules-based order are reshaping Asia

More info below👇
www.ycaps.org/cc-yokosuka-...

Indigenous Learning Recovery in Pohnpei, FSM Discover the Indigenous Learning Recovery (ILR) initiative in Pohnpei, FSM, led by Canita Rilometo-Nakamura and Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL). This innovative program fosters tra...

🚨Read this article by Canita Harollyn Rilometo-Nakamura on #indigenous learning recovery in #Pohnpei👇

📖 pireport.org/2024/10/16/i...

Catch her speaking at the our next Pacific Studies Pacific Connect webinar on education this January!

🎓 ycaps.org/pc-education

📢 YCAPS Pub Talk

In-person discussion with Shiori Itō (Black Box Diaries) and producer Eric Nyari on documentary filmmaking, storytelling, and Japan's film industry

More info below 👇
ycaps.org/black-box-de...
#Japan #Documentary #BlackBoxDiaries #TokyoEvents

Climate disasters demand swift action Southeast Asia is in crisis. Less than a week after the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) concluded in Brazil, the region is grappling with devastating floods and landslides, underscori...

🚨Climate disasters demand swift action🚨

YCAPS Non-Resident Fellow Genevieve Donnellon-May examines why escalating floods and storms now pose a core security and economic risk for Southeast Asia

Read below 👇
www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opin...

#ClimateSecurity #SoutheastAsia

Watching Shiori Ito's Black Box Diaries as YCAPS Community on December 16, 2025 (Tuesday) Thank you for your interest in this event. The group will gather at the venue at 6 pm and the movie will start at 6:30 pm. Please purchase your tickets yourself either via the venue website prior to t...

Join the YCAPS community to watch the award-winning documentary Black Box Diaries on Dec 16, 2025, at T-Joy Prince Shinagawa. The group will meet at the theater at 6:00 pm. Attendees purchase their own tickets.

Sign up: forms.gle/ok175FfFqBcf...

#YCAPS #BlackBoxDiaries #TokyoEvents #Documentary

Lee Jae-myung’s Latest Policy Signals to North Korea Lee has downgraded “denuclearization” as a goal. Will it be enough to attract interest from Pyongyang?

Looking for insight into Seoul’s latest signals to Pyongyang?

YCAPS Special Advisor @mikebosack.bsky.social breaks down President Lee Jae-myung’s new approach in the @thediplomat.com

Read more 👇
thediplomat.com/2025/12/lee-...

#Korea #NorthKorea #ROK #SouthKorea #internationalRelations

YCAPS held the 3rd ASPEN Workshop in Yokosuka aboard the historic Mikasa, bringing US-Japan Alliance professionals together for IAMD sessions, simulations, and community-building.

More👇
www.ycaps.org/blog/ycaps-a...

#USJapanAlliance #SecurityCooperation #IndoPacific #Yokosuka

📢 WEBINAR ANNOUNCEMENT

YCAPS launches its new Pacific Connect series on Challenges and Innovations in Pacific Island Education!

Speakers from the Pacific will discuss access, to education and indigenous learning

Register 👇
www.ycaps.org/pc-education

#PacificIslands #Education

Maritime issues are pinned to what we see, not what’s at sea Nov 25, 2025 // Over 70% of the world is covered in water, yet we remain largely blind to the sea and its importance to our lives. That general blindness means when maritime problems arise, we blame i...

📢 NEW ARTICLE ALERT

YCAPS Senior Fellow Ian Ralby co-wrote this article arguing that maritime policy often suffers from “sea-blindness,” focusing on coastal symptoms instead of offshore drivers

Read it here 👇
www.diplomaticourier.com/posts/mariti...

#MaritimeSecurity #OceanGovernance

Quad coast guards in the Indo-Pacific: informal networked regional governance through practice transfer This paper analyses the engagement of the coast guards of the Quad. It argues that increasing engagement – represented by growing joint training, operations, and exchanges – is representative of an...

📢 NEW RESEARCH ALERT

Scott Edwards and John Bradford analyse how the Quad’s coast guards are shaping informal, networked regional governance across the Indo-Pacific through practice transfer.

Read the article 👇
doi.org/10.1080/1948...

#IndoPacific #Quad #MaritimeSecurity #CoastGuard #IOR