From Tokyo to Washington: Japanese Expert Joins SAFN at the Millennium Project

The South Asia Foresight Network (SAFN) under the Millennium Project, is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Satoru Nagao, a distinguished Japanese scholar, as a Senior Fellow.

SAFN

7/7/2025

Washington, DC (July 7, 2025) – The South Asia Foresight Network (SAFN), a leading South Asian think tank under the Millennium Project, is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Satoru Nagao, a distinguished Japanese scholar, as a Senior Fellow. SAFN Executive Director Asanga Abeyagoonasekera stated, “With growing Indo-Pacific challenges—particularly in the security domain and the intensifying geopolitical competition—Dr. Nagao’s appointment comes at a crucial time. Just days after the Quad Foreign Ministers convened in Washington, his expertise will contribute significantly to shaping strategic foresight among Washington and its Indo-Pacific allies committed to a Free and Open Indo-Pacific.” Dr. Nagao recently participated in a SAFN-hosted webinar on Indo-Pacific, where he raised serious concerns about the emerging threats and tensions in the region. To view the full webinar video, click here

Dr. Satoru Nagao is a fellow (non-resident) at Hudson Institute, based in Tokyo, Japan. From December 2017 through November 2020, he was a visiting fellow at Hudson Institute, based in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Nagao’s primary research area is U.S-.Japan-India security cooperation. He was awarded his Ph.D. by Gakushuin University in 2011 for his thesis, “India’s Military Strategy,” the first such research thesis on this topic in Japan. Gakushuin University is a premier institution from which members of the Japanese Imperial Family have also graduated.

Dr. Nagao holds numerous other research positions, including associate professor at the Institute for International Strategy of Tokyo International University, senior research fellow at the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies, specially-appointed research fellow at the Japan Forum on International Relations, research fellow at the Institute for Future Engineering (strategy, defense policy), member of Research Committee of Research Institute for Peace and Security, senior fellow at the Institute of National Security Studies Sri Lanka, and senior research fellow of the Indian Military Review, Visiting Fellow (Indo-Pacific) & Honorary Convenor, Japan of Tillotoma Foundation in India etc

Dr. Nagao was a visiting scholar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), in Washington D.C. He worked previously as a research fellow at the Tokyo Foundation and the Ocean Policy Research Foundation in Tokyo, as a post-doctoral fellow at the Research Institute for Oriental Cultures at Gakushuin University, and as a lecturer at Gakushuin University, Aoyama-Gakuin University and Komazawa University. He was also a security analyst at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and a first lieutenant of the Japan Ground Self Defense Forces (Japanese Army).

For more information, please visit www.southasiaforesight.net