Drone Warfare in International Armed Conflicts: Civilian Harm and the Global Race for Drone Technologies
Event Details
Date: 14 October 2026 (Wednesday)
Time: 9:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
Venue: Waseda University, Tokyo (room to be confirmed)
Language: English, with consecutive interpretation into Japanese
The rapid spread of short-range drones is transforming the conduct of hostilities in international armed conflicts and creating grave new risks for civilians.
Along Ukraine's front line, these systems are increasingly used against civilians, including humanitarian personnel and emergency responders. Similar platforms have been deployed for surveillance, targeting, and attacks in densely populated areas of Gaza and southern Lebanon.
These conflicts have also exposed the global supply chains behind drone production: dual-use components, including those manufactured in Japan, can end up in systems later used to attack civilians.
Drawing on documented evidence from these conflicts, the event will examine the resulting patterns of civilian harm and the role Japan can play in strengthening export controls, preserving evidence of attacks, and safeguarding humanitarian missions.
Panel discussion
- Richard Weir (Senior Crisis, Conflict and Arms Advisor, Human Rights Watch): Patterns of civilian harm across conflicts and increasing automation in targeting systems
- Oksana Pokalchuk (Co-Executive Director, Truth Hounds): "Human safari": drone attacks on civilians and humanitarian workers in frontline Ukraine
- Mariia Makarovych (Head of the East Asia Office, Liberal Democratic League of Ukraine): The global race for drone technologies
- Akira Igata (Project Lecturer, Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo): How effective are export controls in an era of globalised dual-use technology? Lessons from Japan and China
Moderator: Kanae Doi, Japan Director, Human Rights Watch