Asia Policy Events, Monday October 19, 2026

10/17-19 - Annual Fall Rites held at the Yasukuni Shrine. Visits and offerings by rightwing Diet members and Cabinet officials. PM Takaichi does not visit as she has in the past.

10/19-20 - 25th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation ( SCO ) Prime Ministers ' Meeting, Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Xi and Putin attend.
10/19-29 - Exercise Keen Sword takes place in Japan’s southwest region to rehearse island defense. Largest U.S.-Japan biennial joint drill.
10/20-21 - APEC Finance Ministerial Meeting (FMM), Hong Kong.

BOOK TALK: TECH-GEMONY: UNDERSTANDING THE NEW NATIONAL SECURITY ECONOMY. 10/19, 9:30-10:30am (JST), 10/18, 8:30-9:30pm (EDT), VIRTUAL. Sponsor: Institute of Contemporary Asian Studies (ICAS), Temple University Japan Campus. Speaker: author Brad Glosserman, Senior Advisor, Pacific Forum; Moderator: Robert Dujarric, Co-Director, ICAS, Temple University Japan Campus. PURCHASE BOOK

THE IRAN CRISIS STOCKTAKE: WHO CAN SUSTAIN THE PRESSURE? 10/19, 1:00-2:00pm (BST), 8:00-9:00am (EDT), VIRTUAL. Sponsor: Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). Speakers: Ali Ansari, Senior Associate Fellow, RUSI; Burcu Ozcelik, Senior Research Fellow for Middle East Security, RUSI; Jonathan Hackett, retired US Marine Corps interrogator; Mohammed al-Basha, independent Middle East analyst and founder, Basha Report Risk Advisory; Moderator: Jonathan Eyal, Associate Director, Strategic Research Partnerships, RUSI.

BOOK TALK: THE ROUTLEDGE HANDBOOK OF IDEOLOGY ANALYSIS. 10/19, 10:00-11:00am (EDT), VIRTUAL. Sponsor: Illiberalism Studies Program, George Washington University. Speakers: author Juliette Faure, Professor of Political Science, University of Lille; author, Mathew Humphrey, Professor of Political Theory, University of Nottingham; author, David Laycock, Emeritus Professor of Political Science, Simon Fraser University.  PURCHASE BOOK: https://link.amazon/B06y2GvJJ

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN ENERGY AND NUCLEAR POWER IN JAPAN. 10/19, Noon-1:15pm (EDT), HYBRID. Sponsor: Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School. Speakers: Hisashi Yoshikawa, Project Professor, Institute for Future Initiatives, University of Tokyo; Nobuo Tanaka, Chairman, Steering Committee, Innovation for Cool Earth Forum (ICEF); Moderator: Joseph E. Aldy, Professor, Harvard Kennedy School.

AUSTRALIA’S APPROACH TO RESEARCH AND INNOVATION SECURITY: PROTECTING OPEN SCIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION. 10/19, 2:00-3:00pm (EDT), VIRTUAL. Sponsor: Institute for Security & Development Policy. Speakers: Bart Hogeveen, Senior Fellow & Director Europe, Australian Strategic Policy Institute; Moderator: Melita Phachulia, Executive Assistant, Institute for Security & Development Policy.

PRESS CONFERENCE: HOW JAPAN CAN RESPOND TO A TAIWAN CRISIS. 10/20, 11:00am-Noon (JST), 10/19, 10:00-11:00pm (EDT), HYBRID. Sponsor: Professional Activities Committee, Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan. Speaker: Katsuya Yamamoto, Director, Strategy and Deterrence Program and Senior Research Fellow, Sasakawa Peace Foundation.

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