Ms. Sakata is professor of international relations at the Kanda University of International Studies (KUIS) in Japan. She specializes in Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia security, with a focus on the U.S.-ROK alliance and U.S.-ROK-Japan security cooperation. She was a research fellow of the Research Institute for Peace and Security (RIPS, Tokyo) Security Studies Program (1992-94), visiting research fellow at the Institute of Modern Korean Studies at the Graduate School of International Studies at Yonsei University (2008-09) and the Sigur Center for Asian Studies at George Washington University (2014). She has participated in various study groups and projects such as those at the Japan Ministry of Defense (MOD), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan Institute for International Affairs (JIIA), the Tokyo Foundation, Japan-Korea Forum, Japan-Korea Policy Dialogue (Sejong Institute), Pacific Forum CSIS, the Stimson Center, Northeast Asia Cooperation Dialogue (NEACD), and the National Security Archives (Washington, D.C.). She is also a member of the MOD Central Deliberative Council on Defense Facilities. She received her B.A. and M.A. in political science from Keio University.