Research mobility visits to Hokkaido University Arctic Research Center
Three researchers from the Arctic Centre at the University of Lapland - Pavel Tkach, Medy Dervovic, and Marco Volpe - visited Hokkaido University’s Arctic Research Center as part of the project entitled “The Russian invasion of Ukraine impacting actions and visions of Japan and Finland in the Arctic”.
The project is jointly funded by the Research Council of Finland and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. It is hosted by the Northern Institute for Environmental and Minority Law at the Arctic Centre of the University of Lapland, in collaboration with the UArctic Chair in Arctic Legal Research and Education and the UArctic Law Thematic Network.
During their research visit, they have engaged in research as well as thought-provoking discussions with Japanese scholars and actively participated in the two specific workshops hosted and moderated by Juha Saunavaara.
The first workshop organized on 24 October, entitled “Navigating Asia-Arctic Relations in Times of Global Uncertainty”. The workshop covered several topics, including Arctic policies of Asian States; recent developments in Russian law/policy and future relations with Russia; the role of international law as a reliable pathway for cooperation on Arctic matters between Asian States and Arctic States; and dynamics between private companies and State policies.
The second workshop, entitled “Conducting Research in and on the Arctic,” was held on 30 October, with the goal of engaging Japanese students and researchers and sharing concrete examples of opportunities and challenges based on our own experiences conducting research in and on the Arctic. The workshop highlighted research opportunities between Finland and Japan.