Yuki Kurihara is an Associate with The Asia Group based in Tokyo. Yuki provides thoughtful analysis of geopolitical and security policy trends in the Indo-Pacific region, especially on Japan’s evolving defense policy, to assist client success in the Japanese market.
Prior to joining The Asia Group, Yuki worked in London at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), where he conducted research and analysis of Japan’s national security strategy and economic security policy, with a particular focus on the defense industry, export controls, and investment screening, while managing podcasts, webinars, and roundtables on these subjects. Before his role at the IISS, Yuki worked as a News Assistant at CNN in Tokyo, reporting on Japan’s political and diplomatic affairs, including the 2022 U.S.-Japan Summit, Japan’s territorial disputes with Russia and China, and the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. He previously interned at the Asia Pacific Initiative and the U.S. Embassy, Tokyo.
Yuki holds a Master of Science in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics and Political Science, where he completed a master’s thesis on the legitimacy of foreign direct investment screening on national security grounds. He also earned a Master of Arts in International Security from Sciences Po in Paris, specializing in European defense policy and Europe’s engagement in the Indo-Pacific, with a particular focus on arms trade between Europe and Asia. Yuki received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Political Sciences with a minor in Asian Studies from Temple University.
Yuki is fluent in Japanese and English. In his spare time, Yuki pursues interests in fitness, hiking, and travel, and has visited nearly 40 countries and over 70 cities across Europe.