Masafumi Iida
Director of the Department of Advanced Domain Studies at the National Institute for Defense Studies
Professor Masafumi Iida is Director of the Department of Advanced Domain Studies at the National Institute for Defense Studies (NIDS). Professor Iida has focused his research primarily on China’s foreign and security policies, particularly the implications of China’s maritime advances for security in the Indo-Pacific region. While working for the NIDS, he completed a term as a Visiting Scholar with the Center for East Asian Studies at Stanford University in 2011 and with the China Maritime Studies Institute at the US Naval War College in 2014. He holds an MA in media and governance from Keio University and in East Asian studies from Stanford University. His publications include Prospects for U.S. Strategy toward China and Recommendations for the Japan-U.S. Alliance (Sasakawa USA, March 2026) and “China’s Strategy to Transform the Existing International Order” in NIDS China Security Report 2024 (November 2023), among others.
Updated: August 12, 2026