| Abstract |

Sanctions are a key diplomatic tool to address international security threats through economic and political restrictions. They are designed to deter aggression, enforce compliance with international norms, and safeguard global stability. As the UN Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs) are binding measures adopted by UN Security Council, the sanctions provided by UNSCRs can take various forms, including trade restrictions, asset freezes, and travel bans, each tailored to curb illicit activities and pressure targeted entities into adherence with international regulations. Japan has been implementing the UNSCRs against North Korea since 2006 in response to its nuclear and missile programs, aligning with broader UN Security Council (UNSC) efforts to limit Pyongyang’s access to resources that could further its military ambitions. As a key player in the enforcement and monitoring of these sanctions, Japan works alongside international partners to ensure their effectiveness while navigating complex regional security dynamics.
This lecture provides an overview of UNSC sanctions on North Korea, analyzing their diplomatic significance and broader implications. It will focus on three key areas: first, the structure and function of UNSC sanctions, including their objectives and enforcement mechanisms; second, their impact on academic exchanges and research collaborations; and finally, recent developments and challenges, such as North Korea’s cyber activities and evolving sanction evasion tactics. By exploring these aspects, the lecture offers insight into Japan’s foreign policy and its role within the global security framework.

| Bio |

Ms TOKU Satoko (徳聡子) is a Japanese diplomat currently serving as the Deputy Chief of Mission (Minister-Counsellor) at the Embassy of Japan in Austria since September 2024. With over three decades of experience in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of Japan, she has served in various roles in foreign policy, international trade, and multilateral diplomacy.
Her international postings include diplomatic assignments in the United Kingdom, Myanmar, Vienna, and Geneva. In the latter two, she represented Japan in major global organizations such as UNHCR, OCHA, and UNODC. In Japan, she held key positions related to international trade negotiations, including the negotiation of investment agreements and FTAs (e.g. the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), Japan-EU, Japan-Canada, and RCEP).
Before being assigned to Austria, she was the Director of the United Nations Sanctions Division (2021-2024), overseeing Japan’s approach to global sanctions and international security and was thus involved in the UN Security Council and sanction discussions on North Korea.
Ms. Toku holds a degree from Sophia University in Tokyo as well as Emmanuel College, Cambridge University, and joined the MOFA in 1991.

| Date & Time |

u:japan lecture | s10e02
Thursday 2025-03-20, 18:00~19:30

| Place & Preparations | 

| Plattform & Link |

| Further Questions? |

Please contact ujapanlectures.ostasien@univie.ac.at or visit https://japanologie.univie.ac.at/ujapanlectures/s10/#e02.

| Abstract |

Tokugawa Mitsukuni’s religious policies in Mito domain during the 1660s are famous for their radical retrenchment of Buddhist institutions but were also designed to promote a system of one shrine per village. Mitsukuni aimed at a complete separation of Shinto shrines from Buddhism. As such, I regard his measures as a typical case of Domain Shinto (hanyrō shintō 藩領神道).
   Domain Shinto is an umbrella term that subsumes a cluster of religious policies and ideas beginning in the early Edo period that are related to Shinto. It is a terminus ex post that does not exist in any primary source and does not correspond to any of the Shinto schools in early modern Japan. Rather, Domain Shinto describes a set of policies that were based on an amalgamation of ideological thoughts. These include anti-Buddhist ideas, a neo-Confucian morality and historical interpretation, and the ideal of Japan as a divine country (shinkoku 神国) prior to the advent of Buddhism.
   In the case of Mito, Domain Shinto measures included a drastic reduction of Buddhist temples, a severe curtailing of the Hachiman faith (a deity with particularly strong Buddhist connotations) and the strengthening of Shinto shrines and shrine priests. After Mitsukuni stepped down as lord of Mito in 1690, his nephew and successor Tsunaeda adopted his uncle’s views and continued ‘shintoizing’ the domain. In the first half of the nineteenth century, Tokugawa Nariaki renewed Mitsukuni’s and Tsunaeda’s efforts. In contrast to his ancestors, his measures showed a stronger anti-Buddhist aspect and were implemented more aggressively.
   In my talk, I describe the measures by Mitsukuni and his successors Tsunaeda and Nariaki and their impact on the population through a case study of the village of Noguchi in northwestern Mito. I examine changes to the villagers’ religious practice as well as to their networks that were influenced by religious traditions.

| Bio |

Brigitte Pickl-Kolaczia studied Japanese studies at the University of Vienna with a focus on the history of religion. Her research interests include the dynamics and interactions between Buddhism and Shintō. While her master's thesis of 2015 examined the development of a state cult around the imperial family through the restoration of imperial tombs in the 19th century, the focus of her research has since shifted to questions regarding religious practice of Japan's populace during the early modern period. She has recently finished her PhD thesis on religious policies in early modern Mito and the impact of these policies on the domain’s population. She conducted her research for this thesis as part of two projects funded by the Austrian Science Fund at the Institute of the Cultural and Intellectual History of Asia at the Austrian Academy of sciences. She is a co-editor of the 2021 volume Religion, Power, and the Rise of Shinto.

| Date & Time |

u:japan lecture | s10e01
Thursday 2025-03-13, 18:00~19:30

| Place & Preparations | 

| Plattform & Link |

| Further Questions? |

Please contact ujapanlectures.ostasien@univie.ac.at or visit https://japanologie.univie.ac.at/ujapanlectures/s10/#e01.