Grantee | Hitotsubashi University (Awarded in January 2025)
Project | US-Japan Cooperation to Support Asian Democracy Advocates at Risk (DARs)
“Actually, the people in the case we are working on right now... are still tortured,” says Professor Maiko Ichihara, describing one of the individuals currently under their protection. Ichihara is the leader of the University. The remark is matter-of-fact, a description of what she is dealing with on a daily basis, but the stakes could not be higher. The people they support—activists, journalists, and opposition figures across Asia—aren’t just fighting for democratic ideals. They are being hunted, detained, and in some cases, tortured for their fight.
And in an unassuming office on the campus of Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo, a small team is helping them fight back.
An Unlikely Sanctuary
Japan is not typically seen as a hub for human rights advocacy. While the country has long championed peace and democracy through diplomatic channels, its domestic institutions have traditionally played a limited role in offering direct support to at-risk individuals. The Democracy Advocates at Risk (DAR) program, launched in 2024 by the Institute for Global Governance Research (GGR) at Hitotsubashi University, is quietly and radically changing that.
Led by Ichihara, an expert in international relations and democracy promotion, the program provides temporary sanctuary to democracy advocates from the Indo-Pacific region who face immediate persecution in their home countries. What makes DAR unique is not just whom it supports, but how: unlike most programs that relocate individuals to Europe or North America, DAR is designed to help advocates remain geographically close to their home countries, communities, and causes. And in some cases, that means even bringing these individuals to Japan as a safe harbour.
“I have been covering democracy support since the beginning of my PhD program,” Ichihara explains. “I have always been interested in how those actors have been supporting democracies in other countries, especially in Asia.” That interest eventually grew into a new model of regionally grounded, university-based protection—one that fills a critical gap in Asia’s democracy support infrastructure.
When Support Means Survival
Operating a program like DAR requires discretion, care, and speed. Many of the cases remain confidential for security reasons, but their history of advocacy must be documented.. “They have to have some record of doing some of the critical analysis or advocacy,” says Ichihara, in order to demonstrate that if “they remained in the country, they would be captured by the authorities, detained, and tortured.”
That’s where funding becomes a matter not just of feasibility, but of life and death. An early grant from the United States-Japan Foundation (USJF) allowed GGR to offer modest monthly honoraria to fellows in Japan: essential support in one of the world’s most expensive cities.
“The U.S.-Japan Foundation grants made it possible for us to host those scholars,” explains Ichihara. While some research stipends are able to be secured from other sources, daily living support is very difficult to find. “With the USJF money, we are able to provide some honoraria to them every month so that they can pay for rent.”
In Japan, DAR’s model is unusual, but it’s also deeply necessary. The program not only provides a temporary home but also allows these activists and scholars the opportunity and freedom to continue their work, safely and with dignity.
A Japan-Based, Regionally Rooted Model
DAR’s emphasis on remaining in Asia is intentional. The program’s network model enables participants to maintain ties with fellow advocates, stay informed about local developments, and, when conditions allow, return home to continue their work. This proximity enhances both emotional resilience and strategic effectiveness.
Crucially, it also reframes Japan’s potential role in the region. By positioning a Japanese university at the center of this effort, DAR expands the country’s soft power toolkit and models how other academic institutions in Japan can contribute to democratic resilience, not just through research, but through action.
This work is deeply personal, as the relationships with those DAR supports are also personal. The team must navigate immigration procedures, security risks, and emotional stress while working outside formal government channels for each individual. “This is not an easy type of work for us to be doing, but we always remember that it is much more difficult for those we support.” Yet their efforts are building something new: a sustainable, regionally grounded platform for democracy defense that is responding to dire circumstances that are encountered by those with the courage to speak out against injustice, persecution, and authoritarianism.
Expanding the Circle
DAR remains in its pilot phase, currently aiming to support around ten individuals per year. But the long-term vision is more ambitious. “We hope that, first of all, we will expand the partner scholars,” says Ichihara. “In some cases, they might be able to find their own funding sources, and we are also hoping to expand our efforts to grant-giving organizations in different countries,” in the way that they have collaborated with USJF.
This strategy includes building a broader network of scholars across Asia who can serve as hosts, allies, and mentors. It also includes public-facing efforts to raise awareness of democratic repression, such as an upcoming event focused on the political crisis in Cambodia.
For USJF, the program represents a strategic and values-driven investment. DAR is not only protecting individual lives; it’s laying the groundwork for a more interconnected and resilient democratic movement across the Indo-Pacific. We are all hoping that this program can scale up in the future.
A Quiet but Radical Shift
In many ways, DAR remains under the radar, but that is largely by design. It doesn’t have a flashy website or a large public presence. But in the quiet offices of GGR at Hitotsubashi, a radical shift is underway. A Japanese university is providing shelter, not rhetorical but real and concrete, to political dissidents under threat from authoritarian regimes.
It’s a small program with a big vision: that safety doesn’t have to mean exile, and that Japan, through quiet acts of solidarity, can help keep the flame of democracy alive in Asia.
Ichihara notes, “Thanks to early support from the United States-Japan Foundation, that vision is no longer theoretical. It’s already saving lives.”
