Ms Ana Stella Ebbersmeyer, PhD student at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, will start as a visiting researcher at PCRC Kobe University on 31 January. She will conduct research the main theme of “The regulation of black carbon emissions in Arctic shipping: the role of actors “on international law and climate change. During her stay, she will present her research “The Regulation of Black Carbon Emissions in Arctic Shipping: the Role of Actors” on 
On September 11, 2018 PCRC will convene the 10th international law seminar. At this seminar, Sakiko Hataya, a Ph.D. student at Graduate School of International Cooperation Studies at Kobe University, will give a presentation on "The Establishment of a Permanent Secretariat for the Arctic Council and Its Evolving Functions". For details, please see  20180724.jpg)
On April 24, 2018 PCRC will convene the 7th international law seminar. In this seminar, Mr Ian Trites, the deputy director of Circumpolar Affairs at Global Affairs Canada, will give a presentation on "Canadian Foreign Policy Relating to the Arctic". For details, please see 
On October 20, 2017 Professor Rasmus Gjedssø Bertelsen joined PCRC. He will stay in Kobe until mid-December 2017. For his profile, please see 
On October 16, 2017 Ms. Marzia Scopelliti joined PCRC as research fellow. She will work for PCRC until mid-February 2018. For her profile, please see 
On June 19, 2017, 
Following Dr. Nikolas SELLHEIM, from mid June, 
ined Polar Cooperation Research Centre! He will stay in Kobe as a JSPS post-doctoral fellow (short-term) until the end of February 2018. For his profile, please see 
Director Shibata is on mission to Antarctica from November 2016 to March 2017, accompanying the 58th Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition, executing his research project entitled “Antarctic Treaty System on the Ground: Interface between Science and Law”. Director Shibata will be onboard the icebreaker “Shirase” and visiting Syowa Station, Yukidori Valley ASPA, and other offsite geological and biological survey areas using CH-120 helicopters. During his absence, Acting Director Osamu Inagaki will be heading the PCRC.
On July 1, 2016, Professor Tore Henriksen, Professor of UiT Arctic University Norway, Professor Alexander Sergunin, Professor of St. Petersburg State University and Research Fellow Lindsay Arthur Tamm, University of Akureyri joined the Polar Cooperation Research Centre! For their profiles, see 
March 31, 2025 
Director Shibata appointed as KOPRI Policy Advisory Group, 2025-26
Director Shibata has been appointed as a member of KOPRI Policy Advisory Group for the period of two years starting from January 2025. According to the letter of appointment, the Group members are expected to (1) Identify and analyze emerging polar related issues in the process of horizon scanning; and (2) Contribute to key events organized by KOPRI. Kobe PCRC and KOPRI has been developing a research collaboration through jointly organizing from 2023 Antarctic governance workshops and ATCM side event seminar on Antarctic governance in 2024 at Kochi, India. This collaboration will continue as KOPRI/Kobe PCRC third Antarctic governance workshop is already planned, this time in Incheon, Korea, on September 15, 2025. KOPRI is also one of the two Overseas Collaborating Core Institutions of the JSPS Core-to-Core Program on Antarctic Governance, 2025-2030.
March 21, 2025
JSPS Core-to-Core Program on Antarctic Governance adopted!
“Re-arranging resilient Antarctic governance to reflect the Earth’s interests through natural-social sciences interdisciplinary research” has been adopted as the 2025 Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Core-to-Core Program - Advanced Research Networks - with Kobe PCRC as its Core Institution and University of Tasmania (UTAS), Australia and Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI) as Collaborating Overseas Core Institutions. The funding of ca. 14 million JPY per year for five years from April 2025 to March 2031 is expected. This program aims to establish a world-wide and world-class network of interdisciplinary research institutions and scholars to effectively address the Antarctic governance challenges. The Progam also aims to make policy recommendations on Antarctic governance for the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) to be held in Hiroshima, Japan in 2026 and in Korea in 2027 and beyond. The result announcement from JSPS (only in Japanese language; added March 28).
March 18, 2025
Dr. Osamu Inagaki will attend and make a presentation at ASSW 2025！
Dr. Osamu Inagaki, researcher of Polar Cooperation Research Centre, will attend Arctic Science Summit Week (ASSW) 2025 to be held at University of Colorado Boulder from 20-28 March 2025. Dr. Inagaki will make a presentation titled “Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries Agreement (CAOFA) as a Tool for Arctic Research Cooperation” at the open session “Tools for Arctic Research Cooperation and Diplomacy: Prospects for the 5th International Polar Year,” arguing that CAOFA now functions not just as a fisheries agreement, but also as an important agreement for enhancing Arctic research cooperation. This will be a concluding research result of ArCS II International Law 2020-2025. Dr. Inagaki will also attend meetings relating to the 4th International Conference on Arctic Research Planning (ICARP IV) as he is a member of its Research Priority Team 4 (Arctic Research Cooperation and Diplomacy).
February 12, 2025
Book launch and review seminar on "Geopolitical Change and the Antarctic Treaty System" in Kyoto
The 29th PCRC International Law Seminar "Book Launch and Review on 'Geopolitical Change and the Antarctic Treaty System: Historical lessons, Current Challenges' will be held on March 1 at the Kyoto International Law Study Group. This seminar was organized to take advantage of the opportunity that one of the co-authors, Professor McGee, is currently in a stay at Kobe University as a visiting professor. In this seminar, the presenters intend to take up Part III (Antarctic geopolitics, by McGee), Chapters 3, 8, 11 & 14 (Core Antarctic Treaty principles, by Shibata), Chapters 4 & 9 (Environmental issues, by Nuemann), and Chapters 10 & 12 (CCAMLR, by Morishita). More details can be found here. (Prior approval by the study group is required to attend.)
February 10, 2025
Welcome, Visiting Professor Jeffrey McGee from University of Tasmania!
Kobe PCRC is delighted to welcome Professor Jeffrey McGee of University of Tasmania as PCRC member during the period from January 15 to March 6, 2025, as Kobe University Visiting Professor under the Strategic International Collaboration Grant Type C project on “Antarctic environmental policies based on best available science: Multidisciplinary research”. Professor McGee had already participated in 2nd Kobe PCRC/KOPRI Antarctic governance workshop on January 18, and he plans to make a presentation jointly with Director Shibata at Kyoto University International Law Study Group on March 1.
February 7, 2025 
28th PCRC International Law Seminar with presenters from Uruguay, Netherlands and Australia
On January 21, PCRC and GSICS jointly organized an international law seminar entitled “New Insights into International Polar Law: A view from early-career scholars”. Kobe PCRC and GSICS graduate students enjoyed a diverse perspective on the Antarctic and Arctic governance presented by early-to-mid career scholars from Uruguay, The Netherlands, and Australia. Yliana from Uruguay is a linguistic expert and argued for an equitable representation of languages in the Antarctic governance, whereas Vill and Indi, both international lawyers, focused on specific challenges facing the current Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings (ATCMs), namely the issue of Annex VI on Antarctic environmental liability and the difficulties in reaching consensus in ATCM and CEP decision-making. After the seminar, a tea-party was organized by GSICS students to continue their dialogue with the international guests.
December 11, 2024
2nd Kobe PCRC/KOPRI Antarctic Governance Workshop on 18-19 January
As Japan prepares to host the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) in May 2026 in Hiroshima, the diplomats, delegates and academia gather again in Kobe, Japan, to reconsider how to maintain the Antarctica as “the natural reserve devoted to peace and science”. The second Antarctic governance workshop co-organized with Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI) will be held on 18-19 January 2025. Please check the dedicated website for the venue, draft program and registration information. Guest speakers include Ambassador Kazuhiko Nakamura from Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Prof. Kees Bastmeijier from the Netherlands, Ms Natasha Gardiner from New Zealand, Prof. Li Chen from China, and Prof. Jeff McGee from Tasmania. The workshop will be conducted entirely in English, and online participation is possible. Please check the website for information on registration.
November 18, 2024
Political shadows cast by the Antarctic curtain: a co-authored paper identifies governance risks of glacial geoengineering
Director Shibata published a high-profile co-authored paper entitled: “Ice sheet conservation and international discord: governing (potential) glacial geoengineering in the Antarctica”, with Dr. Patrick Framm, an international relations scholar at the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt in Germany, who was a visiting professor at Kobe University in February 2024. The paper is published as a policy paper in International Affairs, the journal of the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) in the UK. Antarctic geoengineering is an engineering concept to slow down the melting of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet by installing a huge curtain on the seafloor in front of the ice sheet. This study analyzes the governance risks posed by the Antarctic geoengineering concept in light of the objective of the Antarctic Treaty to prevent the Antarctic region from becoming the scene of international discord and the obligation to use the Antarctic region only for peaceful purposes. This paper grew out of an international seminar held in Kobe and is available open-access from here. Kobe University made a global press release on this research achievement.
October 25, 2024
Rovaniemi Workshop and Östersund Seminar on the Review of Japan’ Arctic Policy
On September 20-21, Director Shibata and members from ArCS II International Law Research Program(2020-2025) as well as collaborating scholars from KAKENHI International Collaborative Research on International Polar Law(2023-2029) have gathered in Rovaniemi, Finland, to showcase the ongoing project on the Review of Japan’s Arctic Policy 2015-25: A Suggestion for Next Decade. Prof. Timo Koivurova from the Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, kindly co-hosted this workshop, with a special guest speaker, Ambassador Vuorimäki, Arctic Ambassador of Finland and the Finnish Senior Arctic Official to the Arctic Council. The final program of the workshop is now available. On September 23-25, our team moved to Mid-Sweden University in Östersund, Sweden, to participate in the 17th Polar Law Symposium, where Dr. Osamu Inagaki convened a seminar on the same subject matter, chaired by Prof. Hitomi Kimura and with Prof. Koivurova and Nansen Prof. Romain Chuffart as commentators. A photo from this seminar is also available..
September 2, 2024
Conference Report from SCAR OSC by two PCRC Fellows available!
The session on “Consensus-building based on best available science in the Antarctic Treaty System” organized as a part of the KAKENHI research project (2021-25) on The Resilience of the Antarctic Treaty System under the Anthropocene was a great success at 2024 SCAR Open Science Conference in Pucon, Chile. The session was co-convened by Director Shibata and Ms Natasha Gardiner, a PhD candidate at University of Canterbury, New Zealand, and included two presentations by Kobe PCRC fellows, Katharina Heinrich and Marco Volpe, both early career scholars from Finland. Now, a short report from Katharina and Marco is available from this site.
August 1, 2024
Director Shibata to co-lead 2 sessions and make 3 oral presentations at SCAR OSC
SCAR Open Science Conference, the world largest Antarctic science academic conference, will be held in Pucon, Chile, from 19-23 August, and Director Shibata will co-lead the Antarctic governance Session 33 and Best Available Science for Consensus-Building Session 46 and will make oral presentations on: (1) The Consultative Party Status conundrum raised by Belarus case at ATCM; (2) The significance of Best Available Science as a principle of Antarctic environmental governance (assisted by Ridzanna Abdulgalfur, Kobe University research student); and (3) The early field research on glacial geoengineering (underwater curtain idea) in relation to Antarctic transparency principle. In Session 46, two Kobe PCRC fellows, Katherina Heinrick and Marco Volpe, will make their presentations with the travel assistance from JSPS project on Antarctic Treaty System Resilience (21K18124).
Presentation files of Director Shibata are now available (password will be announced during SCAR OSC).
May 2, 2024
Antarctic governance seminar at 46 ATCM in India on May 20!
Co-organized with Korea’s KOPRI and Indian host government NCPOR, Kobe PCRC is convening an Antarctic governance seminar on May 20, the first day of 46th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) in Kochi, India. Because it is held inside the conference venue, in-person access is limited to ATCM delegates, but it will be live streamed online! Panel 1 will discuss the current Antarctic governance challenges in light of “science diplomacy” and “diversifying voices”. Panel 2 will discuss our (current generation’s) responsibilities and commitments towards the future generation, taking up the topics such as globalized Antarctica, environmental liability, tourism and safety. Now, YouTube video of the seminar is available for watching.
April 18, 2024
An important contribution on science-based decision making in the Antarctic governance
Director Shibata just published a co-authored paper in Marine Policy: Science Advice for International Governance: An evidence-based perspective on the role of SCAR in the Antarctic Treaty System, with Steven Chown (Australia) leading, and Kees Bastmeijer (Netherlands), Cassandra Brooks (USA), Neil Gilbert (New Zealand) and Laura Phillips (Australia). This is an important contribution in the present Antarctic governance context, where serious yet ill-founded doubts are expressed as to the foundational principle of Antarctic governance based on best available science. This is another outcome of Director Shibata’s current research under KAKENHI “The Resilience of the Antarctic Treaty System under Anthropocene”. Open access article and free downloading.
April 4, 2024
Director Shibata as a Board Member of the the Arctic Centre, U-Lapland!
From 2024 with two years term, Director Shibata will act as a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Arctic Centre, the University of Lapland, Finland. The Arctic Centre is the leading Arctic research institution in the world, and its Scientific Advisory Board supports the Centre's leadership by giving advice for its research planning and on the implementation of its Strategic Plan. Under the JSPS funded International Collaborative Research 2023-2028, Dierctor Shibata as its PI has designated the Arctic Centre as the core overseas research hub in order for PCRC to expand and strengthen its polar governance research.
April 1, 2024
YouTube video from 27th PCRC International Law Seminar on glacial geoengineering is now available for on-demand viewing!
In a seminar held on March 4 entitled "Governing Glacial Geoengineering at the South Pole? The political and legal risks of ‘ice sheet conservation’ in Antarctica", an international relations scholar, Dr. Patrick Flamm, explains the current proposal on the giant underwater curtain to slow down the melting of ice-sheet in the West Antarctica and examines the governance risks underlying such ideas, followed by comments from a physical oceanographer, Prof. Shigeru Aoki and an international lawyer, Director Shibata. The video is about one-hour length. Please click here 
to view.
AY 2023 (April 2023〜March 2024)
March 22, 2024
Invitation to Doctoral Course in International law at GSICS, Kobe University, with Japanese government scholarship: deadline end of May
PCRC welcomes students who would like to pursue graduate level studies (Ph.D. in Laws) specializing in international law, including Arctic and Antarctic legal and policy studies, under the supervision of Professor Akiho Shibata, Director of the PCRC. For the enrollment in 2025, it is strongly recommended to simultaneously apply for the Japanese government scholarship by the end of May this year. Please see the details from here 
.
March 19, 2024
How to protect submarine cables in the Arctic: ArCS II Fact Sheet explains
In October last year, a submarine telecommunication cable connecting Finland and Estonia under the Baltic Sea had been damaged in what may have been a deliberate act. Development and protection of submarine cables in the Arctic is crucially important for social and economic development of the Arctic peoples as well as for stronger connectivity between Japan on one hand and North America and Europe on the other. Under the leadership of Director Shibata, ArCS II International Law Program has published a Fact Sheet as its 10th volume of Briefing Paper Series (BPS) on “Protection of Submarine Cables in the Arctic”. This Fact Sheet describes concisely the current situation and plans regarding the pan-Arctic submarine cables development and the legal frameworks protecting such important infrastructure. It also describes recent responses, such as the Coordination Cell for Critical Subsea Infrastructure established by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and a Memorandum of Cooperation between Japan and EU signed in July 2023. For press release and the download, access here.
February 7, 2024
Giant underwater curtain in the Antarctic? We will discuss it on March 4!
PCRC will convene its 27th international law seminar entitled "Governing Glacial Geoengineering at the South Pole? The political and legal risks of ‘ice sheet conservation’ in Antarctica", with Associate Professor Patrick Flamm as our main speaker. There is a growing academic debate about the potential of supporting glacial stability through artificial infrastructures such as underwater curtains (see recent Nature article below). Inviting an Antarctic sea-ice specialist from Hokkaido University as a commentator, this seminar leads off such a critical discussion based on a multi-disciplinary collaborative research approach. Pre-registration is required through website by February 29. For the details, please refer to the flyer.
January 29, 2024
With Visiting Associate Prof. Flamm from Germany, PCRC will strengthen collaborative research on Antarctic governance!
Dr. Patrick Florian Flamm, Senior Researcher at the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt, will be our Visiting Associate Professor for one and half month under Kobe University Strategic International Collaboration Grant Type C project on “The Rule-based International Order after the Russian aggression of Ukraine: Multidisciplinary research”. During his stay at PCRC, Dr. Flamm and Director Shibata will conduct collaborative research on ice-geoenginnering applied to the Antarctic (see recent Nature article) and more generally on the changing geopolitical context of the Antarctic governance applying Patrick's theoretical framework of "co-opetition".
January 22, 2024
Briefing Paper Series No.9 on Türkiye’s engagement in the Arctic governance is published, co-authored by Dr. Nasih Sarp Ergüven and Director Shibata
ArCS II International Law Research Program has published its 9th volume of Briefing Paper Series (BPS) “Türkiye’s engagement in the Arctic governance: its history and into the future”. The ninth volume of the BPS is a fact sheet describing Türkiye’s historical interest going back to its Ottoman Empire period in both the Arctic and the Antarctic, its current polar scientific activities and their projection into the future, and its (failed) 2015 application to gain an Observer status in the Arctic Council. It also noted that Turkey has a medium- to long-term strategy in the Arctic and the significance of becoming a signatory to the Svalbard Convention. For press release and the download, access here.
December 29, 2023
Director Shibata as a Guest Editor invites submissions to Special Collection in the journal Antarctic Science
From 2022 with early career scholars Yelena Yermakova (Princeton University) and Rebecca Hingley (Australian Antarctic Division), Director Shibata has been planning for a special issue on The policy-law-science nexus in the Antarctic, and, finally, it was established in Antarctic Science, a WoS journal of Cambridge University Press. It is a subsection in the Special Collection entitled "Advances in Antarctic Humanities and Social Science Scholarship”. Director Shibata invites full papers that would examine how science-based decision-making is operationalized within the Antarctic context by studying the nexus between policy, law and science. Link to the Special Collection.
December 25, 2023
The entire videos from Antarctic Workshop are now available on YouTube!
The entire videos from the international workshop on The Future of Antarctic Governance: Antarctic Environmental Liability and Lawyers’ Role in Consensus-building” held on December 1 are now available on YouTube. Please click here to view.
November 13, 2023
Registration for the Antarctic Workshop on Dec.1 is now open !
PCRC will convene an international workshop on “The Future of Antarctic Governance: Antarctic Environmental Liability and Lawyers’ Role in Consensus-building”, on December 1, Friday. This seminar will be held face-to-face at GSICS, Kobe University, Kobe-city, Japan. The lawyers and policy experts from four Asian Consultative Parties will gather in Kobe to discuss about the future of Antarctic governance under the Antarctic Treaty and its Environmental Protocol. We would like to invite you and your colleagues to engage in this exciting and important workshop in-person at the venue. It will also be available for auditing via ZOOM Webinar. Please see the flyer for more details. This flyer will be updated regularly until the start of the workshop.
November 7, 2023
Featured co-authored article by Director Shibata on Antarctic tourism and consensus published in American Journal of International Law !
In Vol. 117, Issue ４ of The American Journal of International Law, the highest impact factor international law journal in the world, Director Shibata has published a featured co-authored article with Professor Bastmeijer of Univerisity of Groningen, Senior Fellow Evan Bloom of Wilson Center and others, on the difficulties and possible solutions of the ATCM consensus-based decision making as regards Antarctic toursim regulation. As the Consultative Parties prepare to convene a Special Working Group on the issue at Indian ATCM in 2024, this Article not only is a significant academic achievements in detailed examination of its history and contexts, but also will provide a policy impetus for further effective regulations of ever-increasing and diversifying human activities in the Antarctic.
◦Open Access from this link
◦See Wilson Center's annoucement
November 6, 2023
Guest speaker from Australia talks on Southern Ocean and law of the sea
PCRC welcomes the visit from University of Woolongong, Australia, of Ms. Anaïs Rémont, Ph. D candidate who is researching on the interaction between international legal regimes in the Southern Ocean under the direction of Distingushed Professor Stuart Kaye. She is originally from France. In our 26th International Law Seminar, Anaïs looks at the Antarctica' History and Challenges ahead through the lens of international law of the sea and newly adopted Agreement for the conservation and the sustainable use of Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ). This seminar is open and we welcome your participation. For the details, please refere to the flyer.
October 5, 2023
Director Shibata and his ArCS II international law team will have a huge presence at 2023 Arctic Circle Assembly and Polar Law Symposium
Director Shibata and his ArCS II international law team, comprising of Profs. Nishimoto (Tohoku U), Osakada (Chuo U), Kojima (Chuo U), Kobayashi (Otaru Commercial U) and early career scholars Dr. Inagaki (Kobe U) and Mr. Suzuki (McGill U), in collaboration with international scholars such as Timo Koivurova (Lapland U), Rachael Lorna Johnstone (Akureyri), Hyoung Chul Shin (KOPRI), and Patrick Flamm (Frankfurt Peace Research Institute) will have their sessions and presentations at 2023 Arctic Circle Assembly at Reykjavik, Iceland, 19-22 October, and at 16th Polar Law Symposium at Torshavn, Faroe Islands, 25-28 October. Check out the latest programs from those two important Arctic and Antarctic conferences. Director Shibata will also give several lectures at University of Akureyri Polar Law Master’s Program, on October 16 (in-person) and November 27 (online).
October 2, 2023
International Workshop on the Future of Antarctic Governance with experts from China, India and Korea gathering in Kobe, December 1!
The future of Antarctic governance under the Antarctic Treaty and its Environmental Protocol faces several challenges today, many of them involving intricate legal issues. One of them is the long-overdue entering into force of Annex VI on Environmental Liability. Lawyers and policy experts from four Asian Consultative Parties will gather in Kobe to discuss how they can assist in overcoming those challenges and strengthening the Antarctic governance under the Rule of Law. Request for in-person participation should be notified to the symposium secretariat as soon as possible. See the flyer for details.
September 1, 2023
Prof. Kees Bastmeijer welcome to Kobe University as Visiting Professor
Prof. Kees Bastmeijer, Professor of Arctic and Antarctic Studies, University of Groningen, The Netherland, will be our Visiting Professor for one month under Kobe University Strategic International Collaboration Grant Type C project on “The Rule-based International Order after the Russian aggression of Ukraine: Multidisciplinary research”. Prof. is one of leading experts in international legal research on nature conservation and polar environmental protection and participates in the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings (ATCM) as a member of the Dutch delegation. During his stay, Kees and Director Shibata will conduct collaborative research on Antarctic tourism regulation and policy-law-science nexus for more effective Antarctic governance.
Photo: At Odai Agata Shrine in Toyooka-City, Hyogo
August 10, 2023
Director Shibata engaging in 2023 North Pacific Arctic Conference organized by prestigious East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawaii
Director Shibata was invited to engage with government officials, scholars, experts and Indigenous representatives gathered for the North Pacific Arctic Conference, the theme for 2023 being “Arctic Governance: Steering Through Sea Changes and Charting New Courses”, 16-18 August 2023, jointly organized by Korea Maritime Institute (KMI) and East-West Center (EWC) of the United States of America. Director Shibata will make a presentation in a session on Arctic science diplomacy, bringing his expertise on treaty-based international scientific cooperation schemes, namely Arctic Science Cooperation Agreement and Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries Agreement, with a comparative analysis of the Antarctic Treaty system. For details of the Conference, please see the EWC website.
August 4, 2023
Antarctica Today seminar in Helsinki during 45th ATCM: YouTube Video now available
With Mr. Evan Bloom from Wilson Center, USA, Prof. Kees Bastmeijer, University of Groningen, and chaired by Prof. Timo Koivurova, University of Lapland, Director Shibata talks on the challenges facing the Antarctic governance and possible solutions. The seminar featured many prominent speakers on major environmental challenges in Antarctica, including marine conservation; Antarctic policy perspectives from the point of view of the foreign affairs community; Antarctic science challenges including climate change; and academic views on challenges the Treaty System has faced in the past 25 years. The Antarctic governance session starts around 1:43:00 of the YouTube video. Enjoy!
May 15, 2023
Director Shibata to speak at Antarctic Symposium held during Helsinki ATCM on May 29 !
The 45th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) will be convened on May 29 until June 9 in Helsinki, Finland. On the first day of the meeting, an Antactic public symposium, "Antarctica today, shared challenges for science and environmental protection in the final frontier" will be held, co-organised by the Finnish Foreign Ministry, Univeristy of Lapland, Wilson Center, and Kobe PCRC. In the academic session, Director Shibata will speak on the importance of science and scientific evidence in the ATCM's legal and policy making. Prof. Koivurova will chair the panel, while Prof. Bastmeijer and Mr. Bloom will join as other speakers. All of them are Kobe PCRC guests in recent months. Our panel will be around 14:00 (20:00 in JST) and will be live streamed. Please click to download the program for details.
May 10, 2023
Kobe PCRC-JSPS fellowship for AY2024
Kobe PCRC will host JSPS fellows for academic year 2024 (arrival in Japan between April 2024 and March 2025). The JSPS fellowship offers generous financial support for various level of scholars from Postdocs, Mid-career to Professor Level with different length of stay in Japan. This fellowship is great opportunity, especially for early career researchers wishing to stay at Kobe PCRC to conduct relatively long-term collaborative research. For details, please see the Invitation as well as the JSPS Application Guidelines
. Please note the deadline of some recruitments, including the 1st recruitment of Postdoctoral Fellowship is June 15th.
April 18, 2023
Invitation to graduate studies in international law at Kobe University, with Japanese government scholarship: deadline end of May
PCRC welcomes students who would like to pursue graduate level studies (Ph.D. in Laws) specializing in international law, including Arctic and Antarctic legal and policy studies, under the supervision of Professor Akiho Shibata, Director of the PCRC. For the enrollment in 2024, it is strongly recommended to simultaneously apply for the Japanese government scholarship by the end of May this year. Please click the image for the details. The useful information regarding GSICS, PCRC and MEXT scholarship are also available in our YouTube video.