Ms. Ayaka SAKAKIBARA (榊原彩加), Master of International Studies (Utsunomiya), is a Ph.D. student in Global and Regional Development Design Program, Graduate School of Utsunomiya University. Her Master thesis examines the conditions under which authoritarian regimes are defeated in an election by analyzing the case of Angola, whose ruling party has been losing its supporting rate gradually, in comparison with previous defeated regimes. Her research career started in 2020, when she won the Incentive Prize with the joint research on the influence of an international norm “Putting an End to Culture of Impunity” to Rohingya Crisis, at Poster Session for Undergraduate Students in the 13th Annual Congress of the Japan Association of Global Governance. Thereafter, she has made presentations at the 62nd Annual Conference of the Japan Association for African Studies (JAAS) and other research meetings.

Her professional career began with the 10-month Internship from 2021 at a certified NPO organization, Action against Child Exploitation (ACE) tackling with the child labor mainly in Ghana and India. In 2022, she works as a Research Assistant of research the Gambia election in 2017 and of research on integration of armed group in DRC and Burundi. Most recently, she served as a Researcher in Politics and Economics at the Embassy of Japan in Angola between 2024-2026 and followed internal affairs, macro economy in Angola and peace process regarding the eastern DRC. During her mission in Angola, she cultivated her insight on the development sector through receiving consultations by UN agencies seeking the assistance of Japan.

She also has background in International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law. The 4 times participation in total in the Moot Court and Role Play Competition organized by the ICRC delegation in Japan developed her knowledge on the fields and its culmination brought Runner-up Prize to her and her teammate in the Role Play Competition held in 2022.