JICA Chair Lecture on Human Security by Executive Director Mine at the National University of Mongolia

In November 2025, Mine Yoichi , Executive Director, JICA Ogata Sadako Research Institute for Peace and Development (JICA Ogata Research Institute), visited Mongolia. During his stay, he delivered a lecture at the National University of Mongolia (NUM). He also visited several research institutes and schools, engaging in a range of discussions.

The special lecture “Human Security and Mongolia” took place on Nov. 14 at NUM. In addition to NUM students and professors, Mongolia-based scholars, government officials and journalists joined. There were about 80 participants in total.

To provide more opportunities for students outside of Japan to learn about Japan’s development experience, the JICA Chair program assists establishing Japanese studies courses at leading universities and graduate schools in developing countries. This program is part of the JICA Development Studies Program, which aims to develop future leaders in developing countries through collaboration between JICA and various Japanese universities. In 2022, to mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Mongolia, the course “Study on the Modernization and Development of Japan” was established through the JICA Chair program at NUM, the most prestigious academic institution in Mongolia. NUM started to award academic credits to students upon course completion in 2023. Since then, the course has covered a range of topics including agriculture and urban development in Japan.

Mine reflected on the birth and development of the human security concept. He explained that human security was defined in the report of the Commission on Human Security that was put together in 2003 by the co-chairs of the commission—Ogata Sadako, then President of JICA, and the economist Amartya Sen—and the United Nations General Assembly resolution on human security adopted in 2012. Mine added that in 2022, nearly three decades after the conception of human security, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) published a new report on it.

Mine then explained human security from three key pillars, space (starting from the individual level), time (risk and resilience) and action (protection, empowerment and solidarity). He defined that human security enables all individuals to do the following: i) flourish in their own ways without being left behind; ii) recover in the case of crises and lead better lives; and iii) live their lives to their fullest with the support from each other and from the solidarity of various organizations across generations uniting to realize personal security. In addition, Mine shared JICA’s mission and vision which put forth human security, along with the flagship report series “Human Security Today,” and the research project “Human Security and the Practices of Empowerment in East Asia,” both by the JICA Ogata Research Institute.

Questions and recommendations from a wide range of perspectives came from the floor during the Q&A session, indicating the great interest in human security. Questions included those on the difference between human security and human rights, best practices and their outcomes, the level of human security in Mongolia and whether it is possible to measure human security with indicators. After responding to each of these, Mine shared that the JICA Ogata Research Institute is currently considering the development of human security indicators, which has gained attention from Mongolian development agencies. He added that he is excited about the possibility of collaboration through the JICA Mongolia Office for the localization of human security indicators in Mongolia.

The JICA Chair lecture by Mine was featured in the local news as well:

Mine was interviewed by the local media during the Mongolia visit. The link to this interview article is shown below:

More information about activities on human security by the JICA Ogata Research Institute can be found below: