At the Nordic Pavilion of the World Expo in Osaka, the Nordic countries hosted a series of seminars on regional security and Nordic–Japanese cooperation in the context of NATO.
PRIO Research Director Louise Olsson contributed to a panel on Women, Peace and Security (WPS), which brought together Nordic and Japanese perspectives. She was joined by Kristin Iglum, Ambassador of Norway to Japan; Tomoko Matsuzawa, Director at Japan’s Ministry of Defense; and Masaki Nakagawa, Vice-Director General at Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. The discussion was moderated by Pietro De Matteis, Programme Officer for the Indo-Pacific at NATO’s Public Diplomacy Division.
The panel highlighted Japan’s important work in this field and addressed how today’s security landscape demands that WPS principles be applied in new ways to meet growing risks, including disaster response and hybrid violence. Participants underlined that gender is a foundational societal structure: overlooking it results in incomplete security strategies and exclusion. WPS ensures that women’s rights, perspectives, and security needs remain central to peacebuilding and resilience.
Olsson emphasized the importance of strengthening research–policy collaboration, ensuring women’s participation across all security domains, and advancing leadership and inclusion in defense and disaster preparedness.
