NEWSLETTER
NO.

28

2012 . 6. 13

GRADUATE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY
THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO
東京大学公共政策大学院

Contents

1 Inaugural Address [ Takatoshi Ito]
2 Murmurs and Musings, No.3 [ Tomoko Amaya] ／ 4th Open Workshop: “Governance of Maritime Transport in Asia” [Kentaro Nishimoto]3 Student Interview No. 11 [Mr. Tomohiro Takayama]
4 A Note before Stepping Down [Kuniaki Tanabe] ／ Topical News

Inaugural Address
Takatoshi Ito Dean, Graduate School of Public Policy
On April the 1st this year I assumed the position of Dean of GraSPP from Professor Kuniaki Tanabe.
A year has passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tokyo is steadily returning to a normal wayof life, but a large scar has been left behind within all of us. We must not forget the lessons of the disasterand I believe that we must take advantage of them to build a strong society.
A commencement and an entrance ceremony in March and April last year were canceled and we wereunable to perform any of our usual ceremonial functions. In order to cope with post-disaster problems thecommencement of some classes was also delayed, but in spring this year we welcomed the students of
the 9th class and were able to commence classes as planned.
GraSPP aims to turn out human capital that meet the demands of the generation. In the midst of rapidly
advancing globalization, the qualities and capabilities of personnel demanded at the leading edge ofglobal politics and economics quickly change. In generations henceforth, not only ﬂuency in English andhigh level of expertise but also communication skill that allows an individual to perform in a diﬀerent
cultural environment will be required of civil servants and those who work for private enterprises in arange of sectors, including the ﬁnancial industry. GraSPP tackles these generational demands head onwhen creating educational programs. Interactive classes that allow students to unrestrictedly give theiropinions and case study classes where students and teachers work closely like seminars are particularly
highly rated.
Two years ago GraSPP established its “Master of Public Policy, International Program (MPP/IP)” whereeducation is provided in English. For the entrance examination there is a US style document screening andinterview. The program also boasts a course taught in English. In September this year the ﬁrst batch ofstudents from MPP/IP will graduate. As things stand, 30% of GraSPP students are from overseas, and acosmopolitan campus where English is used for communication in the corridors and classrooms has beenrealized. In the future, it is my desire that a time will come where graduates from GraSPP will take leadership in Japan and Asia, and that a generation where belonging to the GraSPP network will be advantageous.
Both the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and the University of Tokyo areplanning various reforms to promote internationalization, but the internationalization at GraSPP is leading
the way at the University of Tokyo.
The largest problem faced by GraSPP is that we do not have our own building. Students have an inconvenience placed on them as the classrooms and study rooms are scattered throughout the Administration
construction of the classrooms and facilities is poor. I would like to tackle the improvement of facilities as
the most important challenge facing us at the moment, and ask for your cooperation and support.
Another message entitled “Aiming to Graduate Students Demanded by the Times” from Dean Itocan be found on the GraSPP homepage: http://www.pp.u-tokyo.ac.jp/dean/dm201204.htm

NEWSLETTER

Building No. 2, the Graduate School for Law and Politics and the Graduate School for Economics, and the1Murmurs and Musings

No.

3

Tomoko Amaya
Visiting Professor

I visited several Asian countries and interviewed almost 20 candidates late March for the purpose of selecting overseas students to come to Japan through the IMF scholarship program.
In this program, employees of governments and related organizations are accepted tograduate schools in Japan. Candidates with a number of years work experience and a recommendation from their organization are able to apply. In the interviews I asked the candidates
about the content of their work and the challenges they faced. The current work of the candidates was, in many instances, related to the work that I myself used to be involved in so I
found myself forgetting the interview and becoming personally interested in the various challenges that each candidate faced at work!
Some candidates started their answers with descriptions of their current job, the challenges
they found and views of their colleagues or external parties, then expanded their discussion toassessment of the current situation of their countries and organizations, where the problems
exist and the knowledge or capabilities they lack in order to formulate solutions. It was exciting
to meet such candidates! When I met these candidates with strong ability of problem identiﬁcation and insight, I often thought that they would be excellent employees and that theywould make great staﬀ members or colleagues, as if I had been conducting recruitment interviews as I sometimes did before coming to GraSPP in July last year.
In Japan, April is the month when most universities start. I am looking forward to seeing newstudents here in GraSPP and ﬁnding out what kind of stimulation they will provide and how
they will grow up.

4th Open Workshop:“Governance of Maritime Transport in Asia”
Kentaro Nishimoto

Project Associate Professor (Associate Professor, School of Law, Tohoku University)

With the support of the Nippon Foundation, the Ocean Policy Unit is conducting research
into the tasks to be addressed by ocean policies. Since 2009 the research was carried out under
the name “basic research into comprehensive governance for maritime transport networks inAsia” with the help of Grants-in-Aid for Scientiﬁc Research. This seminar was held on February
27, 2012 as a place to show the results of the research and to discuss areas that need furtherresearch.
The seminar started with an introduction from Visiting Professor Naoya Okuwaki of GraSPP,
and was followed by special talks by Professor Hiroshi Nakanishi of Kyoto Universityʼs Graduate
School of Law / Faculty of Law about Japanʼs diplomatic identity and oceans, and by Professor
Keun Gwan Lee of Seoul National University School of Law about Koreaʼs perspective on theNorthern Sea Route. After this, Associate Professor Hironori Kato of the University of Tokyoʼs
School of Engineering talked about the eﬀect of the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear
power plant on Japanese maritime traﬃc and ports, Professor Hideaki Shiroyama of GraSPP
discussed the international cooperation framework for the Malacca/Singapore Strait and its
implication on the Northern Sea Route, Professor Hisashi Koketsu of the University of Tokyoʼs
Graduate School for Law and Politics and Mr. Tomoharu Hase, Visiting Researcher at GraSPP,NEWSLETTER

spoke on the development of and policies for remote islands, and Associate Professor

2Sookyeon Huh of Rikkyo Universityʼs College of Law and Politics explained Particularly
Sensitive Sea Areas and International Maritime Organizationʼs guidelines. After the talks there
was a panel discussion that covered these issues.
This seminar was attended by many participants from universities, the maritime industry,
government agencies, and other bodies from a wide range of ﬁelds which resulted in analmost full venue and a chance to reaﬃrm the importance of maritime policies for Japan.

Whenever there is an occasion I always make them and hand them out. For
desserts, as long as you follow a recipe you will never fail that badly. When I wasa high school student I decided to learn how to cook as I was going to live by
myself when I became a university student, so I took cooking practice seriously. I
reaped the rewards of this when I got into the top class in home economics inthe ﬁrst and second years of high school.
-How were your two years at GraSPP ?
I studied urban economics under Professor Takatoshi Tabuchi as an economics
major at the Faculty of Economics, the University of Tokyo. When choosing agraduate school, I wanted to study under Professor Yoshitsugu Kanemoto, the leading authority on cost beneﬁt analysis (away to evaluate urban policies). I took the entrance exam of GraSPP but I failed so I had to repeat the year and take it again,
and I passed the next time round. I followed Professor Kanemoto and entered GraSPP, giving everything I had to my studies so I have no regrets and feel good.

GRADUATE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO-Thank you very much for your homemade tiramisu. That was the ﬁrst timea guy has made me a dessert so I was very happy.

Perhaps because of going through a lot together, we in the Economic Policy Division naturally became close and spent a
lot of time both inside and outside the school together. In our division there were only four girls, so I was really envious of
those in other courses with many girls !
I was in the last generation of students able to take a centerpiece of the courses titled “Economic Evaluation of Public
Policies,” under Professor Kanemoto. According to him, however, his successor Professor Yukihiro Kidokoro teaches classes
that are easier to understand.
In one of Professor Kanemotoʼs case studies there was work where I had to compile a report written in parts by otherstudents, and that was really tough. At ﬁrst it didnʼt have the structure of a report, and organizing them into the report wasthe hardest thing. But this bore fruit because I had the chance to present the report that my friend Tango and I wrote
together at the Housing Economics Research Group as well as the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism(MLIT). I donʼt think I will have the chance to present at these kinds of places again so it is a great honor.

Student Interview

11No.

Tomohiro Takayama
Economic Policy Division, the Class of 2012

-Where have you found a job ?
At the Development Bank of Japan.
Initially after I entered GraSPP I was aiming to become a civil
servant so I participated in an internship at the International Shipping Division of the Marine Bureau of MLIT and helpedwith economic analysis of the special measures concerning taxation for ocean-going shipping. Although I gained a valuable experience, I sometimes felt that economic analysis didnʼt make sense and that answers to questions were vague.
Whether it is an outlay of my own or a tax break, I believe that whether a cost eﬀective result can be obtained is important,and I decided to learn cost beneﬁt analysis and go about ﬁnding a job considering companies where that result can beseen in the form of proﬁt. At the same time I wanted to contribute through work in the public sector, and I chose theDevelopment Bank of Japan.

For GraSPP students, the ability to think things through, gain a view of things, and talk about them is important. Whileresisting being taken away by passing trends, you should think about what is important for the development of Japan
from now, and then proactively convey that answer. Two years is very short, but for thinking about this kind of thing yourself and developing your own opinion I feel it is long enough.
(Interview and text by editor)

NEWSLETTER-Do you have any message for GraSPP ?

3

A Note before Stepping Down
Kuniaki Tanabe
I have served as Dean of GraSPP for two years from 2010. In this period, the most signiﬁcant challenges for me were launching "the Master of Public Policy, International Program(MPP/IP)" where education is performed in English, and dealing with the Great East Japan
Earthquake of March 11, 2011.
The disaster that struck the east of Japan in March last year caused great apprehension
for overseas students as well as Japanese students. Almost all overseas students temporarily left Japan meaning that GraSPP had no choice but to delay the start of MPP/IP until
May. However, I read a message of a foreign student who returned to Japan saying "thereis no better time to study in Japan than now. For this is the time where not only the Japanese people, but also foreign nationals in and outside of the country are coming together
as one, and moving dynamically towards not only reconstruction and restoration, but
re-creation of an even more impressive, exciting and resilient Japan," and it gave me enormous satisfaction to be able to feel, through the ﬁeld of education, this connection thattranscends the national borders of Japan.
There are many issues that I am leaving behind unaddressed, but the fact that I managed
to get through these past two years is thanks to the students, staﬀ members and others at
this university that supported me. I very much appreciate the cooperation and encouragement given to me by so many people.

Topical NewsThe second issue of GraSPPʼs alumni newsletterhas been
released. Packed with even more information, this second issue sees the launch ofa section entitled “Where are they now ? -The Interviews of the Policy Practicing
Faculties” where you can read an interview of GraSPP's former practitioner faculty
member. Enjoy !
http://www.graspp.jp/blog/wp-content/uploads/newsletter 021.pdf（in Japanese, PDF, 5.28MB）

http://www.graspp.jp/blog/wp-content/uploads/newsletter 02-eng.pdf（in English, PDF, 2.05MB)

NEWSLETTER

EditorʼsPostscript

4Seeing three deans leave and greeting
another three deans in spring has served
to remind me of the inevitable passage of time andthat I myself have also gotten older in that period. While
I have developed gray hair and my body is starting tosag somewhat, I believe that my mind still retains its
youth thanks to the stimulation I continue to receivefrom teachers, students, and my colleagues. (Editor)

NEWSLETTER
No.

28［Editor+publisher］GRADUATESCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY
THE UNIVERSIT Y OF TOKYO
東京大学公共政策大学院［date of publication］2012 . 6 . 13
［design］Masahiro ABiCo

7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan tel 03 -5841-1710 fax 03 -5841- 7877

E-mail grasppn l @ pp.u- tokyo.ac. jp

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