Aiko Doden

Aiko Doden is Senior Commentator on international affairs and Senior Director at NHK World TV. She has expertise in reporting on a wide range of issues from hard security to human security.

Ms Doden currently presents “NHK World Newsline In Depth” and comments on global affairs with a focus on South East Asia specializing in sustainable growth, global health, gender, education, and human rights. She is a popular face on TV, having anchored key news program on Japan’s public broadcaster NHK, such as “NHK News at 9 PM”, “NHK World Network” and “NHK Asian Voices”. She was a correspondent based in Thailand covering ASEAN countries extensively including over 50 visits to Myanmar.

In three decades in journalism, her work has taken her from Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami evacuation shelters to international summit meetings. Her recent interviews have featured Yuval Noah Harari, Jacques Attali, Audrey Tang, Nobel Laureates Denis Mukwege, Malala Yusufzai, Svetlana Alexievich and Myanmar activist / PEN International Chair of Writers and Journalists in Prison MaThida to name a few. Most recently, she has conducted a one-on-one interview with China’s artist and activist Ai Weiwei.

Since 2021, she sits on the board of trustees at Thomson Reuters Founders Share Company. She is a member of Japanese National Commission for UNESCO and is on the board of governors of UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development. Ms Doden is a committee member of Japanese Foreign Ministry’s ODA Project Accountability Committee.

She is a member of International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS), UK.

She holds an MA in international affairs from Columbia University, New York, USA, and a BA in foreign studies from Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan. She is a 2-dan black belt holder of Kendo, Japanese martial art. She has spent her childhood in London, UK.