International Research Institute of Controversial Histories (国際歴史論戦研究所, iRICH) is a pseudo-academic association of conservative Japanese scholars dedicated to the glorification of Japanese imperial history, including the denial of the history of “comfort women.” Its members mostly overlap with those of the Japanese Society for History Textbook Reform (JSHTR) and the Alliance for Truth About Comfort Women (ATACW).
In April 2021, iRICH hosted a symposium in defense of the “comfort women” denial paper written by Harvard Law professor J. Mark Ramseyer which was streamed live on JSHTR’s YouTube channel. Speakers included Yumiko Yamamoto, Tsutomu Nishioka, Nobukatsu Fujioka, Shiro Takahashi, among others, as well as Mark Ramseyer by pre-recorded video.
Leadership of the iRICH according to its website include:
Chairman:
Seishiro Sugihara (杉原誠四郎), JSHTR
Vice Chairperson:
Yumiko Yamamoto (山本優美子), ATACW, Nadeshiko Action
Dean:
Eiji Yamashita (山下英次), ATACW, Academics’ Alliance for Correcting Groundless Criticisms of Japan
Senior Research Fellows:
Nobukatsu Fujioka (藤岡信勝), JSHTR, ATACW
Hiromichi Moteki (茂木弘道), JSHTR, ATACW
Shunichi Fujiki (藤木俊一), ATACW, Texas Daddy Japan Secretariat
Kunitoshi Matsuki (松木國俊), JSHTR, ATACW, Japan National History Society
Tomoko Hifumi (一二三朋子)
Yoshiaki Yano (矢野義昭)
Director:
Toshiaki Okano (岡野俊昭), JSHTR, ATACW
Research Fellows:
Jun Juno (久野潤)
Haruka Ikeda (池田悠)
Research Fellow and Deputy Secretary General:
Takahiro Nonoda (野々田峰寛), ATACW
Guest Fellows:
Hidemichi Tanaka (田中英道), Japan National History Society
Shiro Takahashi (高橋史朗), Historical Awareness Research Committee
Genki Fujii (藤井厳喜),
Inspector: Osamu Arakida (荒木田修), JSHTR
Counselor:
Takashi Ito (伊藤隆), Japan Institute for National Fundamentals
Keiichiro Kobori (小堀桂一郎), Japan National History Society
Toshio Watanabe (渡辺利夫)
Secretary General:
Shuntaro Echigo (越後俊太郎), JSHTR
Website: iRICH