DAR Event Introduction: “Protecting Pro-Democracy Activists from Persecution Based in Japan – A Network of Asian Researchers” [in Japanese]
On January 8, 2025, an article titled “Protecting Pro-Democracy Activists from Persecution Based in Japan – A Network of Asian Researchers” appeared in the Chunichi Shimbun, introducing the press conference held in December of the previous year to announce the launch of the Democracy Advocates at Risk (DAR) program. The article highlights that DAR is a program designed to assist pro-democracy activists facing oppression in various Asian countries and regions by facilitating their relocation abroad and providing opportunities to continue their work as researchers or students. It emphasizes that this initiative is the first institutionalized effort of its kind in Asia. Professor Maiko Ichihara of the Institute for Global Governance Research, which serves as the secretariat for DAR, expressed her hopes for the program, stating, “I hope that as a society, we can accumulate shared experiences and develop networks that extend beyond individual connections to become collaborations between organizations.”
