Researcher's Profile

The research topics at the Igata Lab is on the newly burgeoning area of “economic security,” which has become somewhat of a buzzword here in Japan. This was arguably prompted by various developments that changed the nature of the international environment surrounding Japan, such as the rise of increasingly powerful and assertive China, Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the arrival of the Trump 2.0 administration. In addition to these international developments, the shift in technology where many of the emerging and advanced technologies have become “dual-use” in nature has led to the “securitization of economy,” which has brought with it numerous new research topics. Ones that I’m working on are:

1. Economic Security: Comparative studies of “economic security” policies being pursued by various countries.
2. Critical and emerging technology and the information environment: Identifying, responding, and deterring disinformation and influence operations using critical and emerging technologies.
3. Food tech and food security: Advancing the policy and social implementation of food technologies, such as cellular agriculture and land-based aquaculture, that enhance food security while contributing to economic growth and sustainability.
4. Human Rights diplomacy: How values such as human rights and democracy are related to economic security in areas such as economic sanctions or supply chain resiliency.
5. International Politics in the Indo-Pacific: Analysis of how all of these new developments and challenges are affecting the international politics of the Indo-Pacific.