Iceland-Japan Session at the Arctic Circle Assembly

At the 2026 Arctic Circle Assembly, we had a session entitled “Science as a bridge: Iceland-Japan Arctic Cooperation” on October 10. This was part of events commemorating the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. This session was organized by the University of Iceland, University of Akureyri, Iceland, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science & Technology (JAMSTEC), Arctic Challenge for Sustainability III (ArCS III), Japan, and Sasakawa Peace Foundation, Japan. Ambassador Takewaka of Japan and Ambassador Hreinn Pálsson of Iceland attended the session.
 
With Lindsay Elizabeth Arthur, Project Officer of International Arctic Science Committee (IASC), Project Officer, as moderator, this session covered the following topics:
 
1. History of Iceland-Japan scientific cooperation
by Hiroyuki Enomoto, Project Professor of National Institute of Polar Research, Japan, Senior Fellow, The Sasakawa Peace Foundation
 
2. Japan’s New Arctic Research Vessel “Mirai II”
by Hajime Kimura, Researcher, JAMSTEC,
 
3. Arctic Circle Japan Forum in 2023
by Atsushi Watanabe, Vice President, Director, and Senior Research Fellow, Ocean Policy Research Institute, The Sasakawa Peace Foundation, Japan
 
4. Role of the Arctic in Icelandic-Japanese relations
by Kristín Ingvarsdóttir, Associate Professor, University of Iceland,
 
5. Polar Law Program
by Romain Chuffart, Nansen Professor, University of Akureyri, Iceland
 
Throughout this session, the importance of science diplomacy was emphasized.
At the closing, Ambassador Pálsson mentioned Arctic Science Summit Week (ASSW) 2027 in Hakodate next April, and International Polar Year (IPY), IPY-5 in 2032-33, as well as possible Western Nordic- Japan cooperation.