NEWSLETTERNO.

42

2015. 12. 11

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

Contents

1 SciREX Summer Camp @Aichi［ Atsuko Sakamoto ］
2 CAMPUS Asia Summer Trip to Hokuriku［ Gong Chen］／ Overseas Student Trip in Kamakura and Hakone［ Hana Okamoto ］
3 Student Interview, No. 21［ Ms. Noriko Katagiri ］
4 Global Energy Outlook and Energy Policy Challenges of Japan and ASEAN［ Hisashi Yoshikawa ］／ Topical News

SciREX Summer Camp @Aichi
Atsuko Sakamoto Public Management Program, 1st Year

From August 21 to 23, I attended a summer camp for the Science for
RE-designing Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (SciREX)
program. The camp, hosted by the University of Tokyo and entitled“Bringing Science, Technology, Innovation to the Market: From theperspective of policy, regulation and national security” was held in Aichi
Prefecture and focused on policies for establishing science, technology,
and innovation as an industry in particular regions. Counting teachingstaﬀ, the camp was attended by about 90 people in total, including
about 40 students from six diﬀerent universities, and it provided an
intensive program of activities over its three days and two nights.
After gathering at Nagoya Station on the ﬁrst day, we split up into twogroups to go on factory visits. We were given the choice in advance ofeither Mitsubishi Heavy Industries or Toyota. I was in the Toyota group.
At the factory, we were able to observe techniques such as the “kanban”(literally “signboard”)method of inventory management and the“andon” (literally “lamp”)method of dealing with abnormal events on aworking production line. Our next stop was Toyota Ecoful Town, where
we visited demonstration facilities aimed at establishing a low-carbon
transportation system and had the chance to ride on the ultra-smallComs electric vehicles. The sharing scheme for using the Coms vehicles
and electrically assisted bicycles within the town is not only compact
and energy eﬃcient, it also incorporates initiatives that make it easy toaccess, including providing a number of stations where vehicles can bepicked up or dropped oﬀ and a smartphone app for making
reservations.
Three keynote addresses and four lectures were held on the morningof the second day. While these short sessions were only 20 to 30
minutes long, I was able to gain a deeper understanding of science,technology and innovation from their diverse range of perspectives(those of nations, cities, and researchers) on such matters as policy
details, the progress of actual work on transforming science andtechnology into industry, and the relationships between science andtechnology and corporate management.
The afternoon was spent in student group work. We were given

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problems relating to the areas of interest we had indicated prior to thecamp and told to prepare policy proposals for presentation on themorning of day 3. My group was given the problem of how to utilize ICT
to promote healthcare and medical industries. Although a couple ofabsences meant there were only four of us, fewer than the other groups,
between us we covered a wide range of ages and levels of experience,with specialties that extended from management studies to chemistry.
Our progress was somewhat faltering, with none of us being experts in
the healthcare ﬁeld, but with the inclusion of a dedicated facilitator (onewas assigned to each group) each of us was able to ﬁrm up our own
views. However, because the facilitator was only able to participate up
until the interim presentation given in the evening, we realized once wewere back to just the group members that we would need to manage
our discussions ourselves, and so reassigned our respective roles.
Although we had reached a decision about which areas of science andtechnology were important to the policy by the time of the interim
presentation, we still needed to deal with such things as actual program
design and identifying its basis. This meant working long into the night
to ensure we would be ready in time for the following dayʼ spresentation. The venue included work rooms and most of the groups
worked through the night or into the early morning, discussing what to
do or preparing PowerPoint slides for their upcoming presentation.
Although somehow or other we were ready in time for the presentation,
we had been unable to cover many of the policy problems we had
identiﬁed, leaving us to make a presentation that left issues unresolved.
Nevertheless, we had participants from a wide variety of backgrounds
and were able to share the breadth of knowledge of team members,
and I believe we succeeded in putting together policy proposals thatwould not have been possible in any other context.
Not only debating through the night was worthwhile and challenging,but also I was made aware of how important management is, including
allocating responsibilities and assigning work within a limited
timeframe, and techniques for maintaining a lively debate. I gained agreat deal from this summer camp.

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CAMPUS Asia Summer Trip to Hokuriku

Young Ambassadors ―Soft Diplomacy between Japan, China, and Korea ―Gong Chen MPP/CAP, 1st Year
This year's summer school trip was shorter than usual, being only
three days long. The trip began at the Eihei-ji temple in Fukui
Prefecture. I set oﬀ with a sense of excitement, this being my ﬁrst visit
to the Hokuriku region despite having lived in Japan for many years.
We then proceeded ﬁrst to Tōjinbō and then to Myōryū-ji, which is also
known as the Ninja Temple. Despite the brevity of our schedule, it wasan enthralling experience that brought me into contact with traditional
Japanese culture.
Naturally, our trip was about more than just sightseeing. It was also
an opportunity to learn about the current state of each nation's society,involving a debate for which we had prepared over the course of thesemester and in which we engaged in vigorous discussion about thediﬀerent concepts of history held by Japan, China, and Korea that
become apparent when looking at our respective history text books,
and a dating show (matchmaking using
typical images of men and women in various
patterns that reﬂect the respective national
cultures) that provided a unique way of
reﬂecting trends in Japan, China, and Korea.
All of these were completed with a
comforting sense of fulﬁllment.
We also had a splendid dinner at a ryokan
followed up by a very lively karaoke party.
During an evening meal at a restaurant
famous for the local delicacy, nodoguro (avariety of sea perch), we built up a genuine camaraderie between
Japan, China, and Korea that transcended nationality.
While the Campus Asia program has just got started, it has major
implications. Along with my hope that activities like this will contributeto the future progress of East Asia, the trip also reminded me of myown personal responsibilities. Surely there are many other like-mindedpeople who share this sentiment. Finally, I would like to express mygratitude to Prof. Hiroaki Miyamoto and the other teachers at GraSPP
who made this valuable opportunity possible, Nobue Nachi who acted
as leader, and Manami Sato who arranged the trip.

Overseas Student Trip in Kamakura and Hakone
Hana Okamoto International Public Policy Program, 2nd Year

NEWSLETTER

On the 12th and 13th of September, I accompanied new overseas
students on a trip to Kamakura and Hakone.
The ﬁrst day was spent mainly in Kamakura, with sightseeing toTsurugaoka Hachimangu and the surrounding neighborhood, a visit toa hot spring at the Kinjo-kan in Atami, and a chance to enjoy Japanese
food. The overseas students showed every sign of enjoying thedistinctive Kamakura street scenes and cuisine. At karaoke, we weretreated to beautiful voices from around the world and the enthusiasm
this engendered kept the party going well into the night.
On the second day we traveled on to Hakone where we enjoyed acruise on Lake Ashinoko and visited a woodcraft studio and the Hakone
sekisho (traditional checkpoint gate). Despite the rain, the students,
particularly those from Southeast Asia, were undeterred by the wet andstayed on deck for the cruise. At the sekisho, we watched adramatization of the governance of Edo and Hakone back in the time
when the checkpoint was still in use. While the objective of the trip was
to help the new overseas students get to know each other better andbecome more familiar with Japanese culture, there was much that was
new to me even though I am Japanese, and I was able to build
friendships with many overseas students.
In the current environment, a deep appreciation and perspective
regarding each nation's circumstances are clearly essential to theformulation of public policy amid global trends that also take in Japan, I
believe that the ﬁrsthand information that this requires is often

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Author is on the rightprovided by the relationships of trust and other bonds between
students built up in good faith without involving individual interests.
Moreover, I want to emphasize the point that the environment forestablishing these relationships, including events such as this trip, issomething that genuinely exists at GraSPP. I learnt surprising things
about the securities markets of Southeast Asia by listening to what theoverseas students sitting next to me at the dinner at the Kinjo-kan had
to say, and we discussed the problems facing urban policy in diﬀerent
countries at the late-night party. Likewise, last year I heard from anoverseas student sitting next to me in the study room about a newenergy system in France, and through that connection I was able to
make friends with many of the students at a student conference about
environmental problems held in Paris.
I would like to thank the academic and administrative staﬀ and past
students who have strived to create such a wonderful environment at
GraSPP. I would also urge those younger Japanese students who will
likely ﬁnd themselves in future roles that call on them to consider thenational interest to take active steps to get to know overseas students.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Takako Uozumi,
Aoi Ono, and the others of International Aﬀairs Oﬃce, and Toriji-sanand Motohashi-san who provided such sterling support as our tour
guides. Thank you very much.

That's right. At times I was looking after three people at once: my father, mymother, and my aunt. First it was my aunt, who had lived on her own, beingaﬄicted by dementia. I thought it odd when she would call on the phonesaying that she must have had a burglar because things were missing, which
led to her being diagnosed with dementia. Next, my mother became
depressed. The problem was that, with my being busy with my work on the
council (Yokohama city council) and my father being a “Showa male”, neitherof us were listening to what my mother had to say. To make things worse, mymother became bedridden when, despite already suﬀering from osteoporosis,
she hurt herself further doing housework at my aunt's. She found it diﬃcult togo out and wasn't able to attend rehabilitation. Although I would do whathousework I could on Saturdays and Sundays, my position required me to visit
the constituency and appear at festivals on weekends, making it diﬃcult tocombine my work with caring for my family. At that time there was as yet noprovision for someone to put their career on hold while they provided care.
Although more people are becoming understanding of childrearing, there has
been very little progress on raising awareness of caring for adults. After serving
for two terms totaling eight years, and leaving it to just before the publicannouncement, at the very last minute when the candidate lists had almost
been published in the newspapers, I decided not to stand for a third term.

Student
Interview

21

No.

Noriko Katagiri

Public Management Program, 2nd YearGRADUATE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO― I hear you have spent the last few years caring for family?

I am grateful that I decided not to run for election and was able to look after
my family to my own satisfaction. My aunt died not long after I withdrew mycandidacy. Shortly after that I was found to have an ovarian tumor. I also
subsequently had gallbladder surgery, and in both cases I had a full recovery
and am now in good health. At the time of my gallbladder surgery, my father
got bile duct cancer, eventually passing away after ﬁghting the disease for ayear and a half. Although I was attending GraSPP, I was comparatively wellplaced for time and was able to look after my father, so I have no regrets.
I started at GraSPP in April 2011. As I took a year and a half oﬀ from study, mylife as a student has lasted longer than normal. When I felt mentally exhausted
from being so wrapped up in caring, GraSPP remained invaluable to me as aplace I could rely on being there. Although I initially enrolled in theInternational Public Policy Program, I found much that was unfamiliar due
to having had no direct experience, even though there were things I may
have heard about as a councilor, so having decided I wanted to switch mystudies to regional government, I changed to the Public Management
Program.

Trying to look younger than real self
(2007 election poster)― What was it that led to your becoming a councilor on the Yokohama
City Council?

Winning a makeup contest
as Sunakake-babaa

I gained a master's degree at Harvard University where I studied second
language acquisition and international education. While there I learnt about casessuch as how raising the standard of education in developing nations promotes
development. Even if we were engaged in civic activities, the reality was that thethings we had to say were not getting through to the center of politics. The
eﬀectiveness of people who express their views diﬀers widely depending onwhether or not they are a politician. Talk about politics and religion is often tabooin Japan, whereas there is open debate about these subjects in America. Being insuch an environment led me to develop an interest in politics. What I have kept
with me from when I got a job after graduation through working as a Japaneseteacher and up to the present day is a desire to see people looking happy and to
give something back. This has instilled in me a wish to give back to the community
in which I was raised and to make myself useful, ultimately leading to my choice tobecome a city councilor.

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Because the disruption in my family meant I only had, in eﬀect, about one week
to prepare after I decided to run for re-election, I had all sorts of things goingwrong, such as my leaﬂets not being delivered even though I had requested they
be sent out, and my posters dissolving in the ﬁrst shower of rain. Although I didn't
get elected, I was able to experience things I had never encountered before, suchas how to behave in failure and how you feel when you lose an election. I am now
feeling clear-headed and am getting myself ready for the next step with a view torepaying those who have helped me in the past.
(Interview and text by editor)

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Global Energy Outlook and Energy Policy Challenges
of Japan and ASEAN
Hisashi Yoshikawa Project Professor
An international symposium entitled “Global Energy Outlook andEnergy Policy Challenges of Japan and ASEAN” was held on September
16.
The symposium was well timed in a variety of senses. Firstly, it was
the ﬁrst time Dr. Fatih Birol had visited Japan since his appointment as
Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), making it avaluable opportunity to hear about his take on the problems and his
aspirations regarding the action plans of the IEA. Secondly, structuralchanges are taking place in the international supply and demand forenergy, particularly in Asia. Thirdly, the symposium was held amid
rising concerns about global environmental problems in the lead up to
the COP21 to be held toward the end of this year. Furthermore, Japan
has formulated its Basic Energy Plan and its long-term outlook forenergy supply and demand, laying out the foundations and future
directions for energy policy.
In addition to Dr. Birol, other invitees to the symposium included
Takayuki Ueda, Vice-Minister for International Aﬀairs of Economy, Tradeand Industry (previously Commissioner of the Agency of Natural
Resources and Energy); Hidetoshi Nishimura, Executive Director of the
Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA); and Nobuo
Tanaka, President of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation (formerly
Executive Director of the IEA). The discussion points for each major
topic are summarized below.
1 Structure of global supply and demand for energy
When supply and demand are forecast out to 2040, regions like India
and ASEAN will have a central role in drawing the world forward. This isbecause of an anticipated slowing of the rise in energy demand in
China due to factors such as a lower rate of economic growth. On the
supply side, meanwhile, there has been a rapid expansion in crude oiland natural gas production in North America. However, there will be amajor fall in the level of investment in upstream processes next year
due to the current low prices, leading to concerns as to whether there
will be suﬃcient supply to satisfy future demand. Meanwhile,
production of natural gas, particularly LNG, will continue to expand and
it is expected to become the leading fuel. Another factor to be kept inmind is the ongoing change in the relationships between traditional
consumers and producers, with oil production by the USA and other
IEA members expanding at the same time as oil consumption isincreasing in the long-time oil exporting nations of OPEC.

2 Maintaining energy security
Concerns about maintaining energy security tend to diminish attimes when the price of oil is falling. On the other hand, issues such as
geopolitical factors in the Middle East are structural and not of a sortthat are amenable to quick solutions. Accordingly, it needs to be kept inmind that the maintenance of energy security remains an important
issue.
3 Global environmental problems
COP21 is now being held in Paris at the end of this year. Politically,
the leaders of USA and China reached a historic agreement onemissions of gases responsible for global warming in November lastyear, and a large number of countries, including developing nations,have already submitted “Intended Nationally Determined
Contributions” (INDCs) (voluntary promises to reduce emissions ofgases responsible for global warming) to the United Nations.
Furthermore, welcome signs are evident in this area. For example, thetendency for CO2 emissions to continue rising has been diminishing,
and there is growing progress around the world on things like energy
eﬃciency and use of renewable energy. This concern about and action
on global environmental problems sends a signal for the future of theenergy sector and will inﬂuence investment trends.
4 Human resource development
While the member nations of ASEAN are diverse in the sense thatthey are at a variety of diﬀerent stages in their economic growth andtheir level of energy access, there is a recognition that human resource
development continues to be an issue, particularly for those nations
with a low level of energy access.

Photograph courtesy of Kayo Yamashita

Topical News

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The 82nd Public Policy Seminar was held on the 8th October at Fukutake Hall of
the Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies. Takehiko Nakao, President of the
Asian Development Bank (ADB) was invited and presented a lecture entitled “Asian
Economic Outlook and the Role of ADB”. Addressing an audience of more than 100,he covered a range of topics that included the future prospects for Asian economies
and key activities and reform initiatives of the ADB. His humorous delivery brought
forth numerous bursts of laughter from the audience. The lecture was infused withhis good-natured demeanor, including his staying around afterwards forcommemorative photographs with GraSPP's overseas students.

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Editorʼs
Postscript

Two of the contributors to this newsletter have coincidentallyemphasized the importance of soft power in international
relations. In both cases, karaoke diplomacy appeared to benotably eﬀective at events they attended. It is pleasing thatkaraoke can prove so inﬂuential among the proud traditionsof Japan. Although I should be too old for that sort of thing, I
also ﬁnd myself wishing I had been at the dating show.
(Editor)

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No.

42［Editor+publisher］GRADUATE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY

THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO
東京大学公共政策大学院［date of publication］2015.12. 11［design］Masahiro ABiCo

7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan tel 03-5841-1710 fax 03-5841-7877
E-mail grasppnl@pp.u- tokyo.ac. jp

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