The Research Institute for Democracy, Society, and Emerging Technology (DSET) will co-host an important international symposium this week with the Sasakawa Peace Foundation (SPF) and the Safer Internet Association / Japan Fact-Check Center (SIA/JFC), highlighting how democracies can strengthen their resilience against the rising threat of disinformation.
The spread of disinformation remains one of the most pressing challenges for open societies today. While direct government intervention can risk limiting free speech, civil society alone often lacks sufficient resources to mount an effective response. Taiwan, on the frontline of countering foreign information manipulation, offers valuable examples of how cross-sector collaboration can work in practice. Through fact-checking, digital literacy initiatives, and rapid response networks, platforms, government agencies, and civil society groups have joined forces to defend democratic information spaces, though obstacles remain in coordinating efforts and sharing timely information.
This upcoming symposium will bring together speakers from Taiwan and Japan to discuss practical countermeasures, share concrete lessons on building public-private partnerships, and explore how community action and collaboration with technology platforms can strengthen democratic resilience. Participants will also examine how artificial intelligence is transforming the information landscape and creating new disinformation tactics, and will discuss Japan’s current response as well as ideas for future cross-border cooperation.
📌If you would like to participate, please apply through [this link] by 15:00 on Thursday, July 10 (JST).
【Event Information】
Date: July 11, 2025
Time: 14:00–16:30
Location: Sasakawa Peace Foundation Building, 11F International Conference Hall (Taro Yamada, Apartment 101, 3-2-1 Jingumae, Shibuya-Ku, Tokyo 150-0001)
【Agenda】
(Time Zone: JST)
14:00–14:10 Opening Remarks
- RADM (ret.) Katsuya Yamamoto, JMSDF
Director, Strategy and Deterrence Program / Senior Research Fellow, Sasakawa Peace Foundation (SPF) - Dr. Jeremy Chih-Cheng Chang
Chief Executive Officer and Director of Economic Security Research, Research Institute for Democracy, Society, and Emerging Technology (DSET)
14:10–14:30 Keynote: Flooding the Information Pipeline
- Dr. Kai-Shen Huang
Director, Democratic Governance Program, DSET
14:30–14:50 Keynote: Exposing Information Manipulation and Authoritarian Influence: Safeguarding Authentic Political Discourse and Election Integrity
- Mr. Chihhao Yu
Co-Director, Taiwan Information Environment Research Center (IORG)
14:50–15:10 Keynote: The Spread of Disinformation in Japan and Our Foundation’s Efforts
- Mr. Ryohei Suzuki
Ph.D. Candidate, Hitotsubashi University / Sasakawa Peace Foundation (SPF)
15:10–15:20 Short Break
15:20–16:05 Panel Discussion: Current State and Challenges of Public-Private Collaboration Against Disinformation
Panelists:
- Dr. Kai-Shen Huang (DSET)
- Mr. Chihhao Yu (IORG)
- Mr. Ryohei Suzuki (SPF)
Moderator:
- Mr. Daisuke Furuta, Japan Fact-Check Center
Q&A Session
16:05–16:10 Overall Comment
- Mr. Jun Osawa
Senior Fellow, SPF
16:10–16:15 Closing Remarks
- Mr. Susumu Yoshida
Senior Executive Director, Safer Internet Association
📌Register here: https://www.spf.org/en/seminar/list/20250711.html
