Yoshiyuki Sagara

Mr. Yoshiyuki Sagara

Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Geoeconomics (IOG) / Asia Pacific Initiative (API)

The International House of Japan

Yoshiyuki Sagara is Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Geoeconomics (IOG) and the Asia Pacific Initiative (API), based at the International House of Japan. His research focuses on international political economy, economic security, sanctions, Japan's foreign policy, international conflicts, and health security. He held teaching posts at the University of Tsukuba and Meiji Gakuin University.

Prior to his current role, Mr. Sagara served as Assistant Director of the Second Northeast Asia Division (North Korea desk) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan from 2018 to 2020. From 2015 to 2018, he served in the Guidance and Learning Unit within the Policy and Mediation Division of the United Nations Department of Political Affairs in New York, where he analyzed and disseminated best practices and lessons learned from UN preventive diplomacy and political engagements, such as in Nigeria, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Between 2013 and 2015, he served in the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Sudan, based in Khartoum. As a project development and reporting officer in the Chief of Mission's Office, he developed and implemented peacebuilding and social cohesion projects in conflict-affected areas of Sudan, especially Darfur. While serving in the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Headquarters from 2012 to 2013, he managed rural and fishery development projects in Latin America and the Caribbean region. From 2005 to 2011, he worked at DeNA Co., Ltd. in Tokyo and engaged in expanding tech businesses.

Mr. Sagara has been widely published and spoke on public policy. He co-authored a report, The Independent Investigation Commission on the Japanese Government's Response to COVID-19 (API/ICJC): Report on Best Practices and Lessons Learned (Discover 21, 2021).

Mr. Sagara holds a Master of Public Policy from the Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Tokyo and a BA in law from Keio University.

PUBLICATIONS

2025

14 July 2025, Japan Times

DOGE Shock and Crisis in U.S. Credibility

Trump’s obsession with flow over stock
The Argentina precedent
Japan’s administrative reform
Crisis in U.S. Credibility

Yoshiyuki Sagara, “Declining Population, Increasing Human-Machine Teaming”, Korea-Japan Joint Work on World 2050, EAI-KF-API Working Paper, 2025

Summary: The population decline, a pressing issue attributed to aging and low birth rates, is a common and urgent challenge for Japan and South Korea. Japan’s population peaked in 2008; since then, it has declined for 15 consecutive years. In 2023, the Japanese elderly population (aged 65 or over) reached 29.1% — the highest in the world. Similarly, South Korea’s population peaked in 2020 and has decreased. As of 2024, its elderly population is projected to account for 19.2% of the total population. Japan is at the forefront among aging countries. As of 2023, Japan’s total population—both Japanese and foreign residents—is 124.88 million, a decrease of about 530,000 from 2022. Although the number of foreign residents has increased at a record pace, the number of Japanese nationals alone decreased to 121.56 million, by 86 thousand people (-0.7%) from 2022, the largest decrease ever (NHK 2024). This article discusses the common challenges brought about by population decline in Japan and South Korea; specific challenges for Japan; the relationship between population decline and national power; and issues for future cooperation between Japan and South Korea towards 2050.

2024

(Report of a panel discussion) Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute, "AI x Digital Sovereignty x Economic Security", attended on 10 September 2024, Taiwan.

2 May 2024　Japan Times

Grasping industrial policy in the age of economic security

Acting as venture capital, governments should embrace openness and agility

13 February 2024　Japan Times

The battle to tackle U.S. election propaganda heats up

Election propaganda, i.e. election campaigns that use misinformation, disinformation, and misinformation (MDM), is an emerging threat to free and fair elections.

17 January 2024　Japan Times

What the Hamas-Israel 'humanitarian pause' really meant

What happened in the lead-up to the humanitarian pause in Nov-Dec 2023?

Is there any difference between a ceasefire and a humanitarian pause?

2023

7 September 2023　Japan Times

Japan has plenty to offer in the field of detecting threats

Chemical weapons
Sensing technologies
Biosecurity
K Program
Multiuse technologies

25 April 2023

Global Pandemic Response: Japan’s Response to COVID–19

Reexaming Japan in Global Context Forum, Tokyo, Japan, organized by the Suntory Foundation

21 February 2023　Japan Times

Why pharmaceuticals are a key issue in the ongoing U.S.-China conflict

10 February 2023

Japan’s COVID-19 Response as Crisis Management

The COVID-19 pandemic turned out to be a protracted crisis for Japan.

https://worldinsight.com/news/politics/japans-covid-19-response-as-crisis-management-1/

In the face of the national crisis, COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Abe’s Office took control within the government.

https://worldinsight.com/news/politics/japans-covid-19-response-as-crisis-management-2/

2022

26 December 2022 API Commentary

Japan integrated economic security into its new National Security Strategy

18 October 2022

Building Resilience through a whole-of-society approach: COVID-19 pandemic responses in East Asia

Interim report of the East Asian response to COVID-19 Project

Yoshiyuki Sagara, Thomas Stables, and Lauren Baehr

The COVID-19 pandemic is the most devastating global health crisis in over a century. During the crisis, East Asian countries and regions, excluding China, were able to provide effective operational knowledge to the public, reduce core national vulnerabilities, and adjust healthcare capacity and resources in ways that created public trust and a sense of legitimacy in the competency of the governments' strategies. This created and maintained a whole-of-society response, which allowed East Asia to build resilience and effectively control the COVID-19 pandemic. Such responses bought these governments time by keeping infections relatively low until vaccines were available.

1 March 2022　Japan Times

The Beijing Games — the beginning of the end of China’s ‘COVID zero’ policy?

Wuhan model
‘COVID zero’ policy
Policy shift by the National Health Commission
Closed-loop management system
Two echo chambers

20 January 2022　Japan Times

Japan needs radical change to achieve health security

How should Japan build its economic security to prepare for and respond to such crises to protect the lives and health of its people?

Health threats
Medical supplies
Developing drugs
Health crisis management
Targeting key technologies
Pull incentives
Human resources

2021

11 June 2021　Japan Times

How Japan can help tackle East Asia's coronavirus surge

East Asian countries have managed to keep COVID-19 fatalities remarkably low compared to Europe and the U.S. through strict border and movement control measures. Recently, these countries are seeing a surge in infections due to highly contagious variants transcending borders -- challenges Japan has been struggling with. As East Asian countries had succeeded in containing infections, they are, ironically, less aware of the threat of the virus compared to Europe and the United States and as a result have been slow to provide vaccines. This has been creating an East Asian COVID-19 paradox.

11 June 2021　Japan Times

Robust vaccine supply chain is key to ending the pandemic

Building a resilient vaccine supply chain in Japan and the world to step up vaccinations is necessary to not only prevent the spread of infections but also stop the novel coronavirus from mutating.

April 4, 2021　Japan Times

China sets sights on a digital currency to challenge the U.S. dollar

March 23, 2021　Japan Times

Japan needs a stronger crisis review system

（co-author）

February 7, 2021　Japan Times

What is needed to bring back freedom of movement

January 8, 2021　Japan Times

Japan’s COVID-19 response: What it did right, what it has to learn