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Hugo Dobson

Professor of Japan's International Relations, University of Sheffield
Hugo Dobson was awarded his PhD from the School of East Asian Studies at the University of Sheffield in 1998. His thesis explored Japan’s participation in United Nations-sponsored peacekeeping operations.

He has worked as a research fellow in the International Centre for Comparative Law and Politics at the University of Tokyo (1997-1999) and lecturer in the international relations of East Asia in the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Kent (1999-2000).

He returned to Sheffield in 2001 as a lecturer in Japan’s international relations, becoming a senior lecturer in 2005 and a professor in 2009. Hugo was Head of the School of East Asian Studies from 2013 to 2019.

His research interests are broadly divided into two strands. The first strand focuses upon Japan's role in international relations, multilateral organisations and global governance, especially the G7 and G20. He has participated in G7 and G20 engagement groups known as the Think 7 and Think 20 that act as an 'ideas bank'.

The second strand of his research explores the role of images in shaping our understanding of international relations and Japan’s role in the world, from postage stamps and logos to TV programmes such as The Simpsons.

He has been the recipient of a number of research grants and has been invited to teach and research at various institutions around the world including the University of Tokyo, Hosei University in Tokyo, Zurich University and Charles University in Prague.

G7 overcomes internal wrangling and ‘irrelevance’ barbs to strike US$50 deal to support Ukraine

Jun 20, 2024 05:36 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

In the 26 months since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the west has been riven with disagreement about how much and what support it will provide for Volodymyr Zelenskys government. There are two main reasons for...

Shinzo Abe's killing: the history of political violence in Japan

Jul 11, 2022 05:41 am UTC| Politics

Our reaction upon hearing the news of the shooting of former prime minister Shinzo Abe was one of shock and incredulity in equal measure. What followed was a frenzy of trying to piece news reports and gossip together to...

Economy

Nasdaq Hits Record High as Tech Stocks Lift Wall Street

Wall Street stocks advanced on Monday as gains in mega-cap technology shares offset pressure from elevated Treasury yields, while the US dollar strengthened and oil prices declined. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained...

European Stocks Diverge as French Fiscal Crisis Hits CAC 40

European stocks ended mixed on Monday as Frances worsening fiscal concerns pushed the CAC 40 to a six-month low, while stronger Eurozone business activity and softer U.S. employment data supported other regional markets....

Trump Plans Diesel Tax Relief as Fuel Prices Hit Record Highs

US President Donald Trump is preparing an executive order aimed at expanding access to tax-exempt diesel as his administration seeks to ease record fuel costs ahead of the November 3 elections, according to two people...

Oil Prices Fall as Middle East Exports Recover, G7 Eases Supply Fears

Oil prices fell in volatile Monday trading as recovering Middle East crude exports, a G7 emergency reserve release and renewed fighting in Yemen eased some concerns over global supply disruptions. Brent crude futures for...

Wall Street Rises as Oil Prices Ease, Nasdaq Hits Record

Wall Street closed higher Monday as easing oil prices and gains in materials and communication services helped stocks withstand another sharp sell-off in global bonds. The SP 500 gained 0.7% to 7,777.31, putting the...

Politics

US DOT Ends Airline Privacy Review Without Enforcement

The U.S. Transportation Department has concluded a review of privacy practices at the nations 10 largest airlines without imposing fines or taking enforcement action, according to a department memo. The airline privacy...

New York Declares Measles Disaster Emergency as Cases Surge

New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a statewide disaster emergency on Monday in response to a growing measles outbreak, marking the first such declaration by a U.S. state since measles cases began rising sharply in...

ISIS Attack Near Kirkuk Kills Iraqi Policeman After US Withdrawal

At least one Iraqi federal police officer was killed and four others were wounded Monday after Islamic State militants attacked a security position southwest of Kirkuk, according to two security sources. The assault...

Trump Offers US Help to Russia After Plague Lab Worker Dies

US President Donald Trump said Monday that the United States is prepared to help Russia following the death of a laboratory worker at a plague research institute in Siberia, an incident that has triggered public health...

Cuba Says US Contacts Continue but Formal Talks Remain Stalled

Cuba and the United States continue to maintain communication channels, but no formal negotiations are currently underway as President Donald Trump intensifies pressure on Havana, according to Cubas top diplomat in...

Science

Blue Origin New Glenn Explosion Could Delay Launch Operations Until 2028

Blue Origin is facing a significant setback after a dramatic explosion involving its New Glenn rocket severely damaged a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, repairs to the...

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions

Blue Origin suffered a major setback after its uncrewed New Glenn rocket exploded during a launch pad test in Florida on Thursday, raising new challenges for Jeff Bezos space company as it competes with Elon Musks SpaceX...

SpaceX Delays Starship V3 Launch Ahead of Potential Record IPO

SpaceX on Thursday postponed the highly anticipated launch of its 12th Starship rocket test from Texas after technical issues interrupted the final countdown. The company now plans to attempt the Starship V3 launch again...

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

Technology

Nvidia-Backed Reflection AI Launches Beam Open-Weight Model

Nvidia-backed startup Reflection AI has launched Beam, its first open-weight artificial intelligence model, as the U.S. company looks to challenge lower-cost Chinese AI models in coding and agentic tasks. Reflection AI...

Meta and Microsoft Cut Internal Claude AI Use

Meta Platforms and Microsoft are reducing their internal reliance on Anthropics Claude AI models as both technology giants encourage employees to adopt proprietary artificial intelligence tools, according to a report from...

Huawei, Qualcomm Sign Multi-Year AI and 5G Patent Deal

Chinas Huawei Technologies has reached a broad multi-year patent licensing agreement with Qualcomm covering key technologies including artificial intelligence, 5G, computing and networking, strengthening the companies...

Zcash NU7 Testnet Cuts Block Time to 25 Seconds

Zcash has activated its NU7 network upgrade on the public testnet, reducing the targeted time between transaction blocks from 75 seconds to 25 seconds as developers prepare for a potential November mainnet launch. NU7 went...

Firmus Grid IPO Draws Strong Demand, Nvidia and Blackstone Could Raise Stakes

Australian data centre operator Firmus Grid plans to reserve roughly half of the shares in its initial public offering for existing investors, potentially giving Nvidia and Blackstone an opportunity to increase their...