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.