WASHINGTON--The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars today announced the appointment of Satoshi Ikeuchi as a Wilson Center Japan Scholar. Ikeuchi will spend two and one-half months in residence at the Wilson Center, beginning in October 2009, working on a research project examining American Middle East policy.

Ikeuchi is an associate professor of Islamic political thought at the University of Tokyo Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology. Previously, Ikeuchi was an associate professor at the International Research Center for Japanese Studies. He has also been a research fellow for the Institute of Developing Economies of the Japan External Trade Organization (IDE-JETRO), and a visiting professor at Alexandria University (Egypt). His publications include Islamu sekai no ronjikata (Discussions about Islamic World), (2008), and Gendai arabu-no shakai-shiso (Contemporary Arab Social Thought), (2002), for which he won the Osaragi Jiro Award for Critical Works.

Ikeuchi's stay at the Wilson Center will allow him to work on a project examining the Obama administration's Middle East policy in its formative stages. His research project will shed light on issues such as contending U.S. approaches to Iran, the U.S. role in the Middle East peace process, and the extent to which the Obama presidency has reinvigorated U.S. public diplomacy in the Islamic world. It will focus in particular on differences and continuities between the current and former administrations.

The Japan Scholar competition was established in 2008 to provide Japan's most eminent thinkers with opportunities to participate in international deliberations on current and future issues facing Japan through dialogue with global opinion leaders and policymakers, scholars, and other experts. The competition seeks to promote non-partisan scholarship and to encourage free, informed, and serious dialogue on issues of public interest to Japan and the United States.

The Japan Scholar competition is a major aspect of the Wilson Center's new Japan initiative. The competition is open to Japanese citizens as well as current legal residents of Japan. Two scholars will be appointed each year. Applications are accepted from individuals in academia, business, journalism, government, law, and related professions. Candidates must be pursuing research on key public policy issues facing Japan, including U.S.-Japanese relations and East Asian political, security, and economic issues. 

This award is made possible through the generosity of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation.

The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars is the living national memorial to President Wilson established by Congress in 1968 and headquartered in Washington, D.C. The Center establishes and maintains a neutral forum for free, open, and informed dialogue. It is a nonpartisan institution, supported by public and private funds and engaged in the study of national and world affairs.