Rajaram Panda is a distinguished scholar, specializing in Japan, Northeast Asia, and Indo-Pacific issues. Dr. Panda earned his Ph.D. in 1981 from the School of International Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). Dr. Panda has held numerous prominent positions throughout his career. He served as the Foreign Editor for the Newstime English daily in Hyderabad (1983-1994) and was the Chief Program Officer at The Japan Foundation New Delhi Office (1994-2009). He has also been a Senior Fellow at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA) from 2009 to 2012, a Lok Sabha Research Fellow from 2018 to 2020, and a Senior Fellow at the Prime Minister’s Museum and Library (PMML) from 2021 to 2023. Notably, he was the ICCR Chair Professor at Reitaku University in Japan from 2016 to 2018. Currently, Dr. Panda is a Member of the Governing Council at the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), a Member of the Governing Council at the Centre for Security and Strategic Studies, an Associate Member at the India International Centre, and an Examiner of M.Phil and Ph.D. dissertations Dr. Panda has made substantial contributions to academic literature. He has authored two books, edited six, and contributed 21 book chapters. He is also credited with 184 papers published in professional journals.