Polar Cooperation Research Centre (PCRC)
Graduate School of International Cooperation Studies

Kobe University

Activities Report (2015-2020)
for External Evaluation

12 February 2020

I. Introduction
Polar Cooperation Research Centre (PCRC) was established on 1 October 2015 housed in the Graduate
School of International Cooperation Studies (GSICS) of Kobe University in order to implement theJapanese government’s Arctic Challenge for Sustainability (ArCS) project (September 2015 to March
2020)1 and to foster polar legal and policy studies in Japan. During the period of this evaluation,
PCRC has carried out numerous Arctic and Antarctic legal and policy studies with extensive research
results. This report presents an overview of such activities from 2015 to 2020.
As the PCRC strives to continue to be the global center of excellence for polar legal and policy researchbeyond 2020, your evaluation and advice regarding its activities and future direction would be greatly
appreciated.

II. Organization and FinanceDuring the four and half years of PCRC activities, the Centre has been headed continuously by a
Director, Professor SHIBATA Akiho, with one Project Assistant Professor (non-tenured) position
filled by two early-career scholars (INAGAKI Osamu, 2016-2018, and HONDA Yusuke, 2018-2020).
The position of a Project Assistant Professor was funded by the ArCS project. In addition, the PCRC
was able to recruit three research fellows during the period also funded by ArCS project (Lindsay
Arthur TAMM in 2016 for 4 months; Marzia SCOPELLITI in 2017-18 for 5 months; and Romain
CHUFFART in 2018-19 for 6 months). The Centre was able to receive invited scholars andpostdoctoral fellows from abroad under the competitive Japan Society for Promotion of Science(JSPS) fellowship programs and through Kobe University’s visiting professorship program. During
the period of this evaluation, PCRC has received twelve (12) international researchers from various
institutions abroad (Australia, China, Finland, Iceland, The Netherland, Norway, Russia, and Spain).2[See Table II-1 in the Attachment]
The main funding source for PCRC’s research activities is the ArCS project with total 40,300,000 JPY(approx. 340,000 Euro) for four-and-a-half years. Furthermore, the establishment of PCRC was
instrumental in acquiring external funding including three KAKEN-HI projects (JSPS Grant-in-Aid
for Scientific Research, Principal Investigator: SHIBATA Akiho) and other international grants, aswell as several grants from Kobe University, such as Kobe University Rokkodai Foundation, Kobe
University Center for Social Systems Innovation, and Center for Asian Academic Collaboration. The
1

Arctic Challenge for Sustainability (ArCS) project: < https://www.arcs-pro.jp/en/>
For list of those invited scholars and fellows, see <http://www.research.kobe-u.ac.jp/gsicspcrc/centre.html#researchers>
2

1total funds available to implement the research activities of PCRC during the period was 77,298,000
JPY (approximately 650,000 Euro). [See Table II-2 in the Attachment]
For the administrative, budgetary, personnel and other matters, PCRC was able to obtain an assistancefrom the administrative office of the Graduate School of International Cooperation Studies (GSICS).
However, it was a challenge from a management perspective that the Centre did not have a dedicatedadministrative staff to assist the only permanent and Japanese-speaking staff of the Centre, namely the
Director and the Project Assistant Professor.

Evaluation point 1: How do you evaluate the organization and funding size of the PCRC in relation
to its research outcome, perhaps, comparing it with other centres and institutions that you know of?
Do you have any advice as to more effectively obtain and execute international research grants andfunds, as well as on an organizational management scheme that would more appropriately
implement a project with the scale such as PCRC?

III. Summary of Activities from 2015 – 2020
1. Research Network Building
PCRC has established a Kobe Arctic Legal Order Studies Forum, a mailing list including both
Japanese and international scholars having interest in the Arctic studies, for disseminating related
information and exchanging views. The number of registered participants in this Forum is over sixty(60) for Japanese and around 200 for international participants. Through this network, PCRC has
provided updates on legal and policy studies in the polar regions. In addition, since 2016, PCRC is amember of “Thematic Network on Polar Law” of the U-Arctic as one of the partnership organizations.
Director SHIBATA is a member of the Social & Human Working Group of the International Arctic
Science Committee (IASC) since 2016. Director SHIBATA has assumed a member of Editorial
Advisors of Polar Record (Cambridge University Press) since 2018. Director Shibata will assume therole of co-editor-in-chief of Yearbook of Polar Law (Brill Publisher) from 2020.
PCRC organized five annual international symposia on Arctic policy and law in collaboration withinternational academia, policy-makers, business sectors, Arctic indigenous communities, andscientists, through which PCRC has established a robust research foundation with close collaboration
with international partners. In addition, PCRC also contributed to various outreach and research
conferences, such as ArCS-related symposia, Japan-Norway Arctic Science & Innovation Week 2016
held in Tokyo, Japan-China-Korea North Pacific Arctic Research Community (NPARC) seminar 2018
held in Shanghai, and 7th (2014) to 12th (2019) Polar Law Symposium, to disseminate research2

outcome from PCRC. The outreach to the Japanese public was a challenge, as PCRC research output
was mainly produced in English. In November 2018, however, PCRC was able to publish a first-everbook on Arctic International Law in Japanese. Also, at the 4th PCRC Arctic symposium on Arctic
resource development, PCRC was able to invite business stakeholders as speakers. From 2019,
Director Shibata is a member of the Organizing Committee for the 6th International Symposium for
Arctic Research (ISAR-6) to be held in Tokyo in March 2020. This is the largest academic gathering
annually held in Japan involving many Arctic natural scientists. Because of Director SHIBATA’s
involvement in the organization, ISAR-6 has several sessions addressing legal and policy issues in the
Arctic.3
On the Antarctic studies front, in October 2018, PCRC established a domestic study group on Antarctic
science and international affairs (Study Group on Antarctic Studies), with the members from academia(international law and international relations), Antarctic scientists, and relevant ministries, namely theForeign Affairs (MOFA), the Science and Education (MEXT), and the Environment (MOE). The
group is kept small and closed (about 20 members) conducive for frank exchange of views. The Group
convened six meetings so far in Tokyo, with two open-ended workshops outside of Tokyo and twointernational workshops held in English.4
For international networking for Antarctic research, Director SHIBATA is an active member of the the
Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) Standing Committee on Humanities and Social
Sciences (SC-HASS) from 2015. From August 2018, Director Shibata is leading an international bookproject on “The Resilience of the Antarctic Treaty System: Future Challenges and Legal Adaptability”(Brill Publisher) with Julia JABOUR of University of Tasmania and Luis VALENTIN FERRADA of
University of Chile, involving twelve (12) authors representing ten (10) different countries. Director
SHIBATA is currently a co-lead of an Action Group on Resilience and the Future of Science-based
Decision-making (PoLSciNex).5 Based on such efforts, Director SHIBATA was invited to lead asession on “Connecting legal and policy needs with Antarctic research” at the SCAR Open Science
Conference to be held in Hobart in August 2020.6

3

For the program of ISAR-6: < https://www.jcar.org/isar-6/program/>. Session S8-R8 is coconvened by Nikolas SELLHEIM (former PCRC senior research fellow) and Director SHIBATA,
Session S9 is con-convened by OSAMU Inagaki (former PCRC Assistant Professor) and HATAYA
Sakiko (Ph.D. student at GSICS), and Session S12 is co-convened by Romain CHUFFART (former
PCRC research fellow).
4
For the list of meetings in Japanese: <http://www.research.kobe-u.ac.jp/gsics-pcrc/ATSresilience/indexj.html>. For some of the international workshops held in English:<http://www.research.kobe-u.ac.jp/gsics-pcrc/ATS-resilience/index.html>.
5
For activities under AG-PoLSciNex: < https://www.scar.org/science/polscinex/home/>
6
See session 44: < https://www.scarcomnap2020.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/SCAR-OSCSession-List-6Jan20.pdf>
3Evaluation point 2: How do you evaluate the progress and the approach PCRC has taken so far
regarding its research network building and outreach activities? Do you have any advice as to more
effective means to reach out to and to engage broader society, particularly Japanese domestic
stakeholders, with the PCRC’s academic activities and findings which are conducted and publishedmostly in English?
2. International Collaborative Research
PCRC actively conducted international collaborative research with various researchers and institutions
around the world. Instrumental in exploring and executing international collaborative research was theorganization and convening of PCRC annual international symposia and workshops. PCRC carefully
selected the themes for such symposia so as to address most relevant Arctic and Antarctic legal andpolicy issues of the time, emphasizing the Japanese and/or non-polar perspective. Then, PCRC
organized the symposia with key invited speakers both internationally and domestically with theexpertise in the subject matter of the symposia. PCRC also endeavored to have multi-disciplinary
voices as well as both academic and practitioner’s perspectives in the symposia. At its 3rd and 4th
symposium, PCRC was able to invite indigenous scholars from Alaska and Greenland to represent theindigenous perspectives. Finally, PCRC symposia and workshops were conducted in a discussionoriented atmosphere. For the list of international symposia and workshops annually held during theevaluation period, please see [Table III-1 in the attachment]. The results of such international
collaborations are summarized below in section IV: Main Achievements.
The visibility of the PCRC itself contributed in attracting international guests to visit and make theirresearch presentations at PCRC, which served as seeds for further collaborative research. PCRC held
“PCRC International Law Seminar Series” sixteen (16) times during the period of evaluation,
including several seminars with international guests. One example is a project called “Connections
and Obstacles: Sustainable Arctic Marine Tourism” (PI: Professor Brooks KAISER, University ofSouthern Denmark), in which Director SHIBATA was invited to participate from 2019. Anotherexample is a proposal for international collaborative research on “Land, Air, Seas and Space: 21stCentury Challenges in Law’s Frontier” (PI: Professor Donald ROTHWELL, Australian National
University), in which Director SHIBATA will be invited to participate from 2021 if the proposal isaccepted. [See Table III-2 in the Attachment]
Evaluation point 3: How do you evaluate the approach taken and its execution by the PCRC inestablishing and strengthening international collaborative research to foster Arctic and Antarctic

4

legal and policy studies in Japan and worldwide? Do you have any advice as to the means andapproaches of strengthening international collaborative research in polar legal and policy studies?

IV. Main Achievements
The main research output and outcomes of the PCRC activities are as follows:
1. Sustained polar research at PCRC resulting in “trust” in the international academic circles
a)

PCRC was selected as the host for the 13th Polar Law Symposium to be held in November 2020.
This is the first time the Symposium is held in Asia. This is the result of sustained Arctic andAntarctic legal and policy studies at PCRC, with the participation of and research presentation
by Director SHIBATA consecutively in the Symposia from 2014 to 2019, along with early-career
scholars from PCRC membership and Kobe University graduate and post-graduate students.

Øhttps://2020polarlawsymposium.org/b)

Director SHIBATA was invited to serve as a co-editor-in-chief from 2020 of the one and only bipolar, law-focused yearbook in the world: The Yearbook of Polar Law. This is the result of close
collaboration with the three other main institutions represented by the fellow co-editors: Professor
Gudmundur Alfredsson (Polar Law Institute, University of Akureyri, Iceland), Professor Timo
Koivurova (Arctic Center, University of Lapland, Finland), and Dr. Julia Jabour (Institute forMarine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS), University of Tasmania, Australia).

2. Publications: Arctica) The highlight is the first-ever English book in the area of Arctic international law edited by aJapanese lawyer: Emerging Legal Orders in the Arctic: The Role of Non-Arctic Actors, Routledge,
2019, 286p.. Co-edited by Akiho Shibata, Leilei Zou, Nikolas Sellheim and Marzia Scopelliti,
the value of this book also lies in Director SHIBATA’s leadership in engaging early-career
scholars in the editorship. This book is a concrete result of the 3rd PCRC international symposium
on “The Role of Non-Arctic States / Actors in the Arctic Legal Order-Making”, held at PCRC in
December 2017. This book has been the subject to several reviews, cf., American Journal ofInternational Law (by Evan Bloom, forthcoming), Polar Record (by Rachael Lorna Johnstone,
forthcoming), Yearbook of Polar Law (by Adam Stepein, forthcoming), and Revista Electonica
de Estudios Internacionales (by Elena Conde, DOI:10.17103/reei.38.26).

Ø https://www.routledge.com/Emerging-Legal-Orders-in-the-Arctic-The-Role-of-Non-ArcticActors/Shibata-Zou-Sellheim-Scopelliti/p/book/9781138618510

5b) Hokkyoku Kokusaiho Chitujo no Tenbo: Kagaku, Kankyo, Kaiyo [The Future of the Arctic
International Legal Order: Science, Environment and the Ocean] (Toshindo, 2018), 283p., coedited by INAGAKI Osamu and SHIBATA Akiho, is a first-ever academic book in Japanese thatcomprehensively addresses the legal issues confronting the Arctic. This book compiles
presentations from the first and second PCRC international symposia in 2015 and 2016. Many ofthe papers were translated into Japanese by graduate students at Kobe University.
Øhttps://www.toshindo-pub.com/book/91508/c)Special Issue in Polar Record on “International Law for Sustainability in Arctic Resource
Development”, co-edited by Romain CHUFFART and SHIBATA Akiho, is in the final process of
its establishment (forthcoming March 2020), which will include research articles andcommentaries based on the presentations made at the 4th PCRC International Symposium in
December 2018. Research Articles by Rachael Lorna Johnstone, Nigel Bankes, Tomohiko
Kobayashi and Minori Takahashi are already published under “FirstView”.

Ø

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/polar-record/firstview

d)

PCRC published eleven working papers under the “PCRC Working Paper Series” so far based on
the research outcome from the PCRC symposia or workshops.

Ø

http://www.research.kobe-u.ac.jp/gsics-pcrc/paper.html

e)Under the ArCS project, by the members and collaborators of PCRC, in the academic year 2019
(April 2019 to present), 9 research papers are published and 9 academic presentations are made;in the academic year 2018 (April 2018 to March 2019), 20 research papers are published and 12
academic presentations are made; in the academic year 2017 (April 2017 to March 2018), 13
research papers are published and 9 academic presentations are made; and in the academic year
2016 (April 2016 to March 2017), 14 research papers are published and 5 academic presentations
are made.

Ø

AY 2018: http://www.research.kobe-u.ac.jp/gsicspcrc/pdf/PCRC%20research%20results%202018-2019.pdf

Ø

AY 2017: http://www.research.kobe-u.ac.jp/gsicspcrc/pdf/PCRC%20research%20results%202017-2018.pdf

Ø

AY 2016: http://www.research.kobe-u.ac.jp/gsicspcrc/pdf/PCRC%20research%20results%202016-2017.pdf

3. Publications: Antarctic

6

a)During the period of this evaluation, Director SHIBATA published 6 research papers (both inEnglish and Japanese) in the area of Antarctic legal studies, 1 textbook chapter (in Japanese), 17
academic presentations (both in English and Japanese). [Table IV-1 in the Attachment]b)

Although Director SHIBATA’s research interest in the Antarctic is long-standing, PCRC as an
institution started to engage in the subject matter from mid 2018, when Director SHIBATA and
Dr. Julia JABOUR agreed to publish a book on Antarctic Treaty System. This has resulted inconvening four international workshops, with relevant research presentations by several
prospective authors. These efforts will culminate in a book to be published in June 2021 from
Brill Publisher. [See Table IV-2 in the Attachment]

Evaluation point 4: How do you evaluate the overall research achievements by the PCRC 20152020? Do you have any comments on any of the individual outcome/publication indicated above?
Do you have any advice as to the future direction/orientation of the PCRC’s polar legal and policy
studies so that the PCRC can stand at the forefront of such research both in Japan and in the world?

7

Attachments
Table II-1: International researchers received by PCRC under different programs
Professor

Associate
Professor

Postdocs

ArCS (PCRC Research Fellow)
JSPS

Invitational (short-term)

3
2

Postdoctoral Fellow (standard)

1

Postdoctoral Fellow (short-term)
Kobe University, Visiting Professorship

Ph.D
student

1
4

2

Table II-2: Funding for PCRC, 2015-2020
ArCS
KAKEN-HI

Kobe University

SCAR

Foundational Principles for International Polar Law (2015-2018)
Constructing the Arctic International Legal Order: Science,
Environment, Ocean, and Institution (2016-2021)
The interface between Earth Science and Global Policy-making (20182021)
Rokkodai Foundation (2016, 2017, 2018)
Center for Social Systems Innovation (2018-2020)
Center for Asian Academic Collaboration (2019)
Action Group on PoLSciNex (2019-2020)

TOTAL (JPY)

Amount40,300,000
3,640,000
16,770,000
10,530,000
3,800,000
1,300,000
300,000
658,000(6000USD)
77,298,000

Table III-1: Annual International Symposia/Workshops/Special Sessions
2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

1st Symposium on “Emerging Arctic Legal Orders in Science, Environment and the Ocean”, 18-19
December 2015 (Participants: 24)
àhttp://www.research.kobe-u.ac.jp/gsics-pcrc/sympo/20151218.html
2nd Symposium on “The Future Design of the Arctic Ocean Legal Order”, 28-29 July 2016 (Participants:
52)àhttp://www.research.kobe-u.ac.jp/gsics-pcrc/sympo/20160728.html
3rd Symposium on “The Role of Non-Arctic States / Actors in the Arctic Legal Order-Making”, 7-9
December 2017 (Participants: 72)
àhttp://www.research.kobe-u.ac.jp/gsics-pcrc/sympo/3rdsympo/20171207.html
4th Symposium on “International Law for Sustainability in Arctic Resource Development: Integrating
Economic, Social, Environmental and Scientific Dimensions”, 17-18 December 2018 (Participants: 63)àhttp://www.research.kobe-u.ac.jp/gsics-pcrc/sympo/2018-4th-sympo/program.html
International Workshop on “The Resilience of the Antarctic Treaty System to Future Challenges”, 19
December 2018 (Participants: 14)
àhttp://www.research.kobe-u.ac.jp/gsics-pcrc/ATS-resilience/index.html#ATSresilience2018
PCRC-ArCS Special Session at 12th Polar Law Symposium, 3 December 2019;i)
Future Agenda for Post-ArCS Legal and Policy Research 2020-25 #1
ii) Future Agenda for Post-ArCS Legal and Policy Research 2020-25 #2
àhttp://www.research.kobe-u.ac.jp/gsics-pcrc/sympo/2019-PLS12/PCRC-ArCS-special-session.html
PCRC Special Sessions on the Resilience of the Antarctic Treaty System to Future Challenges, 3 December
2019;

8

i)
The Resilience of the ATS to Future Challengesii) Policy-Law-Science Nexus (PoLSciNex) in Antarcticaàhttp://www.research.kobe-u.ac.jp/gsics-pcrc/ATS-resilience/PLS12-ATS-resilience.html

Table III-2: PCRC International Law Seminar Series
1
2
3
4
5

6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13

14

15
16

“The Legal Status of Svalbard’s Maritime Zones: ‘Testing the Waters’ for a Future Dispute”, Maria das
Neves (Associate Professor, UiT The Arctic University of Norway), 27 October 2017
“FAO Port State Measures Agreement: A Model beyond LOS Convention”, Maiko Raita (Ph.D. student,
GSICS), 7 November 2017
“An Introduction to International Climate Change Law”, Nikolas Sellheim (JSPS Research Fellow, PCRC,
University of Lapland), 21 November 2017
“The Participation of non-State Actors in International Environmental Governance: Learning from Arctic
IPs”, Marzia Scopelliti (Complutense University of Madrid), 18 December 2017
“Thinking and Working across Disciplines, Sectors and Borders on Global Challenges: Experiences fromthe Harvard Kennedy School, United Nations University, COP15 and COP21”, Rasmus Gjedssø Bertelsen(UiT The Arctic University of Norway), 1 December 2017
“Arctic Fishery Regime-building: Review and Prospect”, Leilei Zou (JSPS Postdoctoral Fellow, PCRC,
Associate Professor of Shanghai Ocean University), 13 February 2018
“Canadian Foreign Policy relating to the Arctic”, Ian Trites (Deputy Director of Circumpolar Affairs at
Global Affairs Canada), 24 April 2018
“What does the future hold for “Long-Peace” in Antarctica?”, Julia Jabour (Visitng Professor, GSICS, Kobe
University, Senior Lecturer, University of Tasmania, Australia), 24 July 2018
“Panel Discussion on The Future of the Antarctic Treaty System”, Akiho Shibata “PCRC, Kobe University),
Leilei Zou (Shanghai Ocean University), Julia Jabour (University of Tasmania), 27 July 2018
“The establishment of a permanent secretariat for the Arctic Council and its evolving functions”, Sakiko
Hataya (Ph.D. student, GSICS), 11 September 2018
“Pan-Arctic Collaboration: Toward a More Integrated Region?”, Romain Chuffart (LL.D. Candidate,
University of Lapland (Finland) Research fellow, PCRC), 5 February 2019
“The Due Diligence Obligation of States in Environmental Law: From the ILC draft articles to the South
China Sea Arbitration”, Tony Cabus (Ph.D. student, GSICS), 5 February 2019
“Cold War in the Warming Arctic? The Return of Westphalian State Competition to the High North, and theConsequences for ‘Arctic Exceptionalism’”, Barry Scott Zellen (Staff, Center for Arctic Study and Policy,
U.S. Coast Guard Academy; Research fellow, University of Connecticut), 23 May 2019
“The politics of marine protected areas in the Arctic: What drives (or: drove not) the process?”, Christoph
Humrich (Visiting Associate Professor, GSICS, Kobe University/ Assistant Professor, University ofGroningen), 11 June 2019
“Dispute Settlement under the Antarctic Treaty System”, Donald Rothwell (Professor of Law, Australian
National University), 12 July 2019
“Sustainable Arctic Marine Tourism: Challenges and Opportunities”, Brooks Kaiser (Professor, Universityof Southern Denmark) and Chris Horbel (Associate Professor, University of Southern Denmark andNorwegian School of Sport Sciences), 26 November 2019

Table IV-1: Publications and presentations by Director SHIBATA on Antarctic studies
P: presentation, C: book chapters, A: articles
2019
P.
P.
P.

Chair, “The Resilience of the Antarctic Treaty System”, Kobe PCRC Special Session, 12th Polar Law
Symposium, 3 December 2019, Hobart, Tasmania.
(With HATAYA Sakiko) “The Legal Implications of Dome A Chinese Kunlun ASMA Proposal”, 12th Polar
Law Symposium, 3 December 2019, Hobart, Tasmania.
“Bioprospecting in the Antarctic: The Discussion in the ATCM and Future Japanese Responses”, 5th Study
Group on Antarctic Studies, 20 September 2019, Tokyo, Japan [in Japanese]

9

P.
A.
P.
P.
C.
P.
P.
P.
2018
P.

P.
P.
A.
2017
P.

2016
A.
P.
2015
A.
A.

A.
P.
P.

P.

“2018 Nature Special Issue on Antarctica: Why it is shocking”, Open-ended Study Group on Antarctic
Studies, 6 August 2019, Sapporo, Japan [in Japanese]“The Environmental and Ecosystem Protection in the Antarctica: Past, Present and Future”, Polar News
[Kyokuchi], Vol.55, No.2, August 2019, pp.2-8 [in Japanese].
“The Antarctic Treaty System: Its Achievements and Future Challenges”, 8th Malaysian International
Seminar on Antarctica (MISA-8), 18 June 2019, Putrajaya, Malaysia.
“The Criteria for Consultative Party Status in ATCM: its future operation”, 4th Study Group on Antarctic
Studies, 6 June 2019, Tokyo, Japan [in Japanese].
“Chapter 9: Internationalized Spaces”, in ASADA Masahiko ed., International Law, 4th Edition, Toshindo,
April 2019, pp.209-227.
(With Julia JABOUR) “The Resilience of the Antarctic Treaty System”, SCAR-SCHASS biannual meeting,
3 April 2019, Ushuaia, Argentina.
“Japan, Asia and the Antarctic Treaty System: Its Resilience Study”, First Chilean Antarctic Law Seminar,
28 March 2019, Santiago, Chile.
“Antarctic stations and their legal and policy implications”, 3rd Study Group on Antarctic Studies, 14 March
2019, Tokyo, Japan [in Japanese].
“Why ‘The Resilience of the Antarctic Treaty System’ today?: Aim of the project” International Workshop
on The Resilience of the Antarctic Treaty System to Future Challenges, 19 December 2018, Kobe
University, Japan.
“The Resilience of the Antarctic Treaty System beyond 2048”, POLAR 2018, 23 June 2018, Davos,
Switzerland.
“Why Antarctica matters today?”, 1st Study Group on Antarctic Studies, 18 October 2018, Tokyo, Japan.
[in Japanese]“Protection of the Arctic and Antarctic Environment”, Environmental Economics and Policy Studies
Dictionary [Kankyokeizai, Seisakugaku Jiten], Maruzen, 2018. [In Japanese]
After “The Lawyer in the Antarctic”: A few pointers for potential collaboration between scientists andlawyers in Antarctic studies, SCAR Expert Group on Humanities and Social Sciences Biennial conference,
5 July 2017, Hobart, Tasmania.
“Conclusion: The judgment, its implications and prospects”, in M. Fitzmaurice and D. Tamada eds.,
Whaling in the Antarctic: Significance and Implications of the ICJ Judgment (Brill, 2016), pp.387-407.
“An International Lawyer in JARE: The role of social sciences in Antarctic field research”, SCAR OpenScience Conference, 23 August 2016, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Japan and 100 Years of Antarctic Legal Order: Any Lessons for the Arctic? Yearbook of Polar Law, Vol. 7,
Year 2014 (2015), pp.3-54.
“Domestic Implementation of the Antarctic Treaty Environmental Protocol Liability Annex”, in J. Eto ed.,Aspects of International Law Studies: Achievements and Prospects[Kokusaihougaku no Shosou:
Toutatsuten to Tenbou], Shinzansha, 2015, pp. 633-667. [in Japanese]“ICRW as an evolving instrument: Potential broader implications of the Whaling judgment”, Japanese
Yearbook of International Law, Vol.58 (2015), pp. 298-318.
“Antarctic Horizon, JARE and International Law”, SCAR Humanities and Social Sciences Expert Group
Academic Workshop, 21 May 2015, Colorado, USA.
“One Year after: What the Whaling Judgment Left us With – Focusing on the resolution of the IWC and
the Japan’s proposal for NEWREP-A”, 2015 Annual Congress of the Japanese Association of World Law,
16 May 2015, Kyoto, Japan. [in Japanese]“One Year after: What the Whaling Judgment Left us With”, Panel Discussion: Japan Resumes its Scientific
Whaling, 13 March 2015, Queen Mary, University of London, UK.

10Table IV-2: Workshops/Seminars under the Antarctic Treaty System Resilience Research Project
2019

2018

Antarctic Treaty System Resilience Book project meeting, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, 5 December 2019
(Participants: 14)
àhttp://www.research.kobe-u.ac.jp/gsics-pcrc/ATS-resilience/files/PLS12_ATSWS_Report_MADANI_20191219.pdf
PCRC Special Sessions on the Resilience of the Antarctic Treaty System to Future Challenges, at 12 Polar
Law Symposium, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, 3 December 2019:i)
The Resilience of the ATS to Future Challengesii) Policy-Law-Science Nexus (PoLSciNex) in Antarcticaàhttp://www.research.kobe-u.ac.jp/gsics-pcrc/ATS-resilience/PLS12-ATS-resilience.html
Antarctic Treaty System Resilience Book project meeting, Ushuaia, Argentina, 2 April 2019àhttp://www.research.kobe-u.ac.jp/gsics-pcrc/ATS-resilience/index.html#SC-HASS_2019
International Workshop on “The Resilience of the Antarctic Treaty System to Future Challenges”, Kobe,
Japan, 19 December 2018 (Participants: 14)
àhttp://www.research.kobe-u.ac.jp/gsics-pcrc/ATS-resilience/index.html#ATSresilience2018

11

Polar Cooperation Research Centre (PCRC),
Kobe University
External Evaluation ReportFebruary 2020

The evaluator’s information: Anonymity requested

Evaluation point 1:

How do you evaluate the organization and funding size of the PCRC in relation to its researchoutcome, perhaps, comparing it with other centres and institutions that you know of? Do you haveany advice as to more effectively obtain and execute international research grants and funds, aswell as on an organizational management scheme that would more appropriately implement a
project with the scale such as PCRC?
In my opinion, PCRC has been clearly able to produce more significant results than would
be expected with that fairly moderate amount of funding for a long period. This is in mymind clearly most to do with Professor Shibata’s international standing, being one of theleading academics of Antarctic law, but also establishing himself as one of the leading
researchers in Arctic law. But he does seem to have also a dedicated Japanese andinternational staff, who clearly can help him. Research outcomes are plentiful and of highquality.

Evaluation point 2:

How do you evaluate the progress and the approach PCRC has taken so far regarding its research
network building and outreach activities? Do you have any advice as to more effective means toreach out to and to engage broader society, particularly Japanese domestic stakeholders, with the
PCRC’s academic activities and findings which are conducted and published mostly in English?
This has also been outstanding. I think it is worthy of notice that Professor Shibata always
engages his Japanese students with networking activities, and they have clearly become
better in this over the years. PCRC’s e-mail list and its research seminars are a true pleasure
to take part since they function so well, and the substance is of so high-quality. I think
PCRC has established itself in its own field as one of the leading three institutes in the1

world.

Evaluation point 3:

How do you evaluate the approach taken and its execution by the PCRC in establishing andstrengthening international collaborative research to foster Arctic and Antarctic legal and policy
studies in Japan and worldwide? Do you have any advice as to the means and approaches ofstrengthening international collaborative research in polar legal and policy studies?
I understand that it may be more difficult to engage with Japanese society with Arctic andAntarctic issues, but clearly PCRC has done a lot of work in this respect as well, byengaging Japanese to these international research seminars and making a book on Japanese
on a topic. It is obvious that its international activities are highly regarded and many want
to exactly find themselves in PCRC, given that has so heavy-duty scholars.

Evaluation point 4:

How do you evaluate the overall research achievements by the PCRC 2015-2020? Do you have any
comments on any of the individual outcome/publication indicated above? Do you have any advice
as to the future direction/orientation of the PCRC’s polar legal and policy studies so that the PCRC
can stand at the forefront of such research both in Japan and in the world?
It may be a disappointment but I do not actually have any advice in these respects – or any
other respects – to what PCRC has done. It has found itself a clear niche internationallyand it is performing as well as it can in advancing its research strategy.

Final Comments, if any:None.

20.2.2020

Signature and Date:

Thank you very much for your cooperation.

2

Polar Cooperation Research Centre (PCRC),
Kobe University
External Evaluation ReportFebruary 2020

The evaluator’s information: Anonymity requested

1Evaluation point 1:
How do you evaluate the organization and funding size of the PCRC in relation to its researchoutcome, perhaps, comparing it with other centres and institutions that you know of? Do you haveany advice as to more effectively obtain and execute international research grants and funds, aswell as on an organizational management scheme that would more appropriately implement a
project with the scale such as PCRC?
The funding allocation to PCRC (around AU$120,000 per year) was relatively small, but sufficient toallow the Director to leverage funding from elsewhere, almost doubling the initial four and a half year
budget. This is an excellent and efficient use of resources that facilitated the building of the project.
However, as the Director has pointed out, there was a shortfall in organisation – specifically a lack of
dedicated Japanese-speaking administrative staff. This meant that the Director and his project assistantprofessors bore the weight of administration, which is not the best use of their time and expertise.
In my previous experience with a similar organisation – the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems
Cooperative Research Centre (ACE CRC, and its four government-funded predecessors) –administrative staff such as the Director’s personal assistant and a business manager are the minimum
required for the efficient running of a short-term funded research centre. Their employment allows thecentre to achieve all of its reporting and administrative (ie. non-academic) functions in a timely andefficient manner, giving the Director and key academic staff more time to leverage outside funding, toattend international events, and to concentrate more fully on research activities and outputs. Despite
this, PCRC has an impressive record of achievement.

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Evaluation point 2:
How do you evaluate the progress and the approach PCRC has taken so far regarding its research
network building and outreach activities? Do you have any advice as to more effective means toreach out to and to engage broader society, particularly Japanese domestic stakeholders, with the
PCRC’s academic activities and findings which are conducted and published mostly in English?
The PCRC’s international approach to research network building and outreach activities, focusing on
both the Arctic and the Antarctic, has been particularly inclusive, involving and attracting visiting
scholars from a wide variety of countries with polar interests. Its partnerships with other polarorganisations is commendable. The key to the success of PCRC has no doubt been its vision to be amulti-disciplinary centre, incorporating social sciences, humanities and natural sciences research, andto be proficient in communicating in English to largely English-speaking audiences. This holistic
approach – understanding, translating and disseminating the natural sciences, humanitarian andcommercial contexts of polar research – is slowly becoming recognised as essential for good policyand law-making.
However, the domestic approach is more problematic. The establishment and operation of the Study
Group on Antarctic Studies is commendable for interacting with domestic stakeholders. It is, in fact,
similar to my own experience with the ACE CRC. Delivering our research findings to stakeholders
was an official milestone of the centre and we developed a process for achieving this. A group of
authors from different disciplines within ACE CRC would jointly produce a draft report (we called ita ‘Position Analysis’) on a specific topic eg. Changes to Antarctic Sea Ice: Impacts (ACE CRC
Publication #123 on my CV). We would distribute this draft position analysis prior to convening an
invitation-only ‘users’ forum’ in Canberra – since most of our stakeholders were government
departments based there. The key authors would give short presentations on their specific contribution
to the position analysis, and these were followed by a round-table discussion. The substance of the
discussion would then inform the content of the final published version of the position analysis. This
worked extremely well and allowed our stakeholders to question the researchers, and inform them of
their individual stakeholder needs for information and analysis requirements to help in their own jobs.
It also gave our brand – ACE CRC – a high profile among relevant stakeholders and the media. Our
research and published position analyses informed, rather than influenced policy. Our media
engagements were then able to disseminate important information to broader, non-specialist audiences.
This has been the model of domestic outreach and stakeholder engagement since the first Antarctic
CRC was established in 1991.
Teaching is another way of meeting domestic obligations although it might require institutions suchas Kobe University to develop new courses teaching, say, polar law and policy. I have taught Antarctic
law and policy in a number of countries, but always in my native language – English. In Iceland, for3example, it was not unusual to have as many as 14 different nationalities represented in the classroom.
However, all students in the Master of Polar Law program there were required to have a workablelevel of English language comprehension and expression. The same was true in other countries suchas Iran and Malaysia. Nevertheless, there is an onus on the lecturer/presenter to understand culturaldifferences and disparity in English language skills and to be flexible and accommodating about thesedifferences in the preparation and delivery of their lectures/presentations. Experience is required tolearn ways of translating complexity into readily-understood language for a classroom of students withno prior knowledge of a topic (such as polar law), with limited knowledge of the language, or for a
public non-specialist audience.

Evaluation point 3:
How do you evaluate the approach taken and its execution by the PCRC in establishing andstrengthening international collaborative research to foster Arctic and Antarctic legal and policy
studies in Japan and worldwide? Do you have any advice as to the means and approaches ofstrengthening international collaborative research in polar legal and policy studies?
The international collaborative projects so far undertaken by PCRC are excellent in terms of coverageof polar countries, relevant current and emerging material, forums convened, publications (actual todate and in press), and inclusion of students and early career researchers from different disciplines.
All of these activities have increased the profile and reputation of PCRC and the individuals involved(many of my comments in Evaluation point 2 are also relevant here). The Director has taken a numberof initiatives to encourage and support international research collaboration through symposia,
workshops, conference panels and presentations, along with membership of and participation in manyand varied international organisations relevant to polar research. PCRC should maintain its presencein the polar research environment through these connections already established, and to continue theidentification and exploration of new relationships and new opportunities.
The invitation to host the 13th Polar Law Symposium in 2020 – the first Asian venue for this annual
event – is a coup for PCRC. The Director’s appointment as a co-editor-in-chief of The Yearbook of
Polar Law series is also a very positive development and a compliment to Professor Shibata. This
Yearbook represents the publication of symposium proceedings, and the co-editors will beacknowledged every year a symposium is held, providing ongoing exposure for PCRC and its Director.
The SC-HASS is a relatively new organisation within a well-respected international scientificcommittee and the Director’s involvement in this, and the Action Group associated with it, also means
ongoing presence and profile for PCRC and expanding opportunities for networking andcollaboration-building.

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Evaluation point 4:
How do you evaluate the overall research achievements by the PCRC 2015-2020? Do you have any
comments on any of the individual outcome/publication indicated above? Do you have any advice
as to the future direction/orientation of the PCRC’s polar legal and policy studies so that the PCRC
can stand at the forefront of such research both in Japan and in the world?
The publication record of PCRC 2015–2020 is impressive, involving publishers of discipline-specificimportance. The number of academic presentations is considerable, and showcases the depth of talentand connection accessible to, and harnessed by, PCRC. The volume of published material is large andcovers both the Arctic and the Antarctic. The variety of formats – from working papers, to articles andbooks – shows the diversity of output that was available to the PCRC and its collaborators.

Final Comments, if any: PCRC is a fine example of the achievements of the Director, Professor
Shibata, and his colleagues. It is vitally important for the world of polar research to include allcountries with polar interests and PCRC is the perfect vehicle for ensuring Japan’s interests continue
to be acknowledged and understood.

Signature and Date:

21 February 2020

Thank you very much for your cooperation.

5