How can we make sense of today’s complicated world? In this talk, Dr. Ueki draws on his unique career spanning the United Nations, teaching, and research to explore how history, ideas, and real-world policy come together. Using examples from major international conflicts—the Iran-Iraq War, the Gulf War and the Iraq War—he shows how lessons from the past help us understand the present and prepare for the future. With reflections on the UN’s 80 years of resilience and challenge, his presentation will offer clear, engaging insights into how research and global experience can guide us through today’s most pressing issues. This talk is open to the public and serves as the keynote address for the annual Royster Global Conference.

Dr. Yasuhiro “Hiro” Ueki is Professor Emeritus at Sophia University in Tokyo, where he taught for 11 years after joining the university in 2014. He served as a professor in the Faculty of Global Studies and later in the Graduate School of Global Studies.

Prior to his academic career, Dr. Ueki worked at the United Nations for nearly 30 years, primarily in the Department of Public Information and in the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General. He also served in several UN field missions, including as Electoral Supervisor in Namibia, Electoral Operations Officer in South Africa, Political Affairs Officer and Deputy Spokesman in East Timor, Spokesman for the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) in Iraq, and Public Information Officer for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, among others. Additionally, he worked in the Political Section of the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations when Japan was serving as a non-permanent member of the Security Council.

Dr. Ueki earned his Bachelor’s degree from Sophia University, and his Master’s and Ph.D. in International Relations from Columbia University. He is the author of numerous publications, including The United Nations—Its Role and Functions (Nippon Hyoronsha, 2018, in Japanese). His article, “Russia’s Aggression against Ukraine and the Pursuit of Individual Criminal Responsibility,” was published in the US-China Law Review in March 2023.

He is a member of the Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS) and the Japan Association of International Relations, among others, and serves on the Board of Directors of the United Nations Association of Japan. He is also a commentator for Nikkei’s electronic edition Think! page.