Analyzing EU-Japan diplomatic relations
between a duck pond and a tree

From Italy to London, and then Japan

I was born and raised in a small town in Northern Italy, between Milan and the border with Switzerland. When I was a child, the anime called Captain Tsubasa was very popular among children and we can say that this has been the means which sparked my interest in Japan. Since then, I continued learning about Japanese culture and society and I started dreaming about living in Japan one day.

Fast forward quite a few years, after graduating from the University of Milan where I completed my Bachelor's degree, I studied at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), a university specializing in social sciences, where I obtained a master's degree in EU politics. While at LSE, I kept trying to integrate my interest for Japan with my international relations studies and as a result, I wrote a thesis on EU-Japan cooperation in the realm of foreign policy. I must confess that without the many exciting discussions that I had with my Japanese colleagues, I would have never been able to gain new perspectives which helped me in writing my thesis.

In 2018, while still a student, I participated in the MIRAI program, which is run by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to promote understanding of Japan, and acted as group leader for the "Politics and Security" Group. It was my first time visiting Japan so I was finally able to, on the one hand, gain first hand experiences of Japanese history and culture in Tokyo and Hiroshima, and on the other, discuss about EU-Japan relations with representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Keio University professors.This experience convinced me that I could realistically pursue a career in researching the political relations between the EU and Japan. I therefore decided to apply for the Japanese government's scholarship program for foreign students (MEXT Scholarship) and luckily, got selected to come to Japan as a special research student. While studying Japanese, I enrolled in the Graduate School of Media and Governance in April 2023.

As a researcher studying the cooperative relationship between the EU and Japan, this was not only a significant step forward in my career, but also the fulfillment of my longstanding childhood dream of living in Japan.

Examining EU-Japan diplomatic policy and cooperative relations through Japanese lenses

I would broadly define my research field at SFCas "Japan-EU diplomatic relations and cooperation," but more specifically I focus on the relationship between "Japan's free and open Indo-Pacific" and the "EU's Indo-Pacific strategy."

"Japan's free and open Indo-Pacific" refers to a concept that views the two continents of Africa and Asia and the two oceans of the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean as a single entity, and seeks to ensure the peace and prosperity of the entire Indo-Pacific region by securing a rules-based international order, thereby developing a free and open Indo-Pacific region as international public goods. This concept was first proposed by then-Prime Minister Abe at the 6th Tokyo International Conference on African Development in August 2016.

Meanwhile, the "EU's Indo-Pacific strategy" refers to the "Joint communication on the EU strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific" announced by the EU in September 2021, which shares fundamental values with Japan, such as freedom, democracy, and the rule of law, and identifies Japan as a partner country with which to promote cooperation in various fields.

My research focuses on how Japan's Indo-Pacific concept influenced EU thinking and norms. The starting point for this focus is actually quite simple and it originates from my curiosity towards how such geographically distant political actors end up influencing and learning from each other. . I have long believed that the EU and Japan, sharing core values and norms, could build a strong cooperative relationship and when the EU Indo-Pacific Strategy was published, I wanted to know more about these latest developments.

In my research, I try to integrate Japanese views through policy-related documents and academic studies in Japanese, while also interviewing people directly involved in the EU's Indo-Pacific strategies to confirm the facts and clarify the policy-making process.

Through this research, I was able to learn about the basic policy trends in Japan and the EU, and I would like to use this knowledge as a basis for my research projects in the future.

Valuable experiences as research assistant and student intern

At SFC, I took courses such as "Global Governance and Regional Strategy (GR)" by Associate Professor Michito Tsuruoka (to be promoted to professor in April 2025) and "Global Governance Viewpoints" by Professor Koichiro Tanaka, and worked on my research thesis. As part of my learning journey in Japan, I also served as a research assistant at the Keio Center for Strategy (KCS). Furthermore, as a student intern at the Institute of Geoeconomics (IOG), an independent think tank, I have participated in several exciting projects involving Japanese and European policymaking. Studying international relations and engaging in research that has connections to Japanese and European societies has been an invaluable experience that I will treasure forever.

International relations are constantly changing, influenced by a myriad of factors, both visible and invisible, including the economic conditions, security, trade, political leaders, ethnicities, religions, and ideologies of many countries around the world. The complexity and difficulty of these relationships are what I find fascinating and trying to find new explanations to political phenomena is what motivates me to pursue my current and future research activities.

After graduation, I will be working at IOG where I will have the honour to support the research efforts of some of the best political experts in Japan and learn from them to continue my research and political journey in the future.

Understanding my academic passion opened the path to becoming a researcher and fulfilling my lifelong dream

When I was in high school in Italy, I didn't do very well in school. I was interested in geography, politics, and English, but I didn't know what I really liked, and I couldn't muster the motivation to study subjects that didn't interest me. I liked Japan, but I never imagined going to university or graduate school here, let alone becoming a researcher. However, my interest in geography, politics, and English led me to discover the field of international politics and from that point, I wanted to know more and more about it. Combining this academic interest with my curiosity towards Japan, I was finally able to fulfill my dream of living here and discovered my passion for research.

To those who are considering studying at SFC, I would like to say from my own perspective that it is essential to first, understand what is your academic passion and second, choose a program which best matches it.Speaking for myself, I feel a little sad when I am forced to study something that does not interest me and I don't perform as well as I could when studying something that interests me.. Of course, it is also important to give it a go to things that you don't expect to like at first, because sometimes you might be surprised to discover that you like something new. Nevertheless, I believe that only once you find your true academic passion, you can unlock an extra level of motivation that will allow you to perform above average and successfully pursue your dream career.

In a nutshell, find something you want to learn and you will be able to pursue your path for future success.

Introduction of Laboratory