NEWSLETTER
19

NO.

2010. 1. 8

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

INDEX

1

A Role in Supporting Decisions

2“Master of Public Policy, International Program” Starts in October 2010 ／ Graduate School Course Report No.9

3

Student Interview

4

Reﬂections on three years of “Risk Management and Public Policy” ／ Topical News

Ms.Yukiko Omagari

A Role in Supporting Decisions
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Hiroya Masuda, Visiting Professor, Graduate School of Public Policy
About 30 years ago, I was wandering this campus as a ﬁrst year

a relatively early age, I developed a close aﬃnity to reading.

law student. As was the case with those around me, the natural

I have few memories of heart to heart discussions between father

course for me seemed to be to take the national public service

and son and the path I chose was completely through my own

examination after which I chose a career in the Ministry of Con-

volition but nevertheless, from a career in the public service to a

struction, accumulating valuable practical experience throughcareer in politics. It now seems that observing my father's journey

postings with the Chiba Prefectural Police and the Ibaraki Prefec-

has subconsciously had its inﬂuence on me.

tural Oﬃce. In 1995, I ran for Governor of Iwate Prefecture andIn recent years, signiﬁcant generational change is afoot. The

spent the next 12 years leading a Governor's life before moving on

public sector is no longer a domain solely for bureaucrats, andto accept a national cabinet position. The experiences gained from

active participation of NPOs and the private sector is encouraged.

playing a support role as a central government oﬃcial to serve top

Sweeping changes are also anticipated in how central and regional

decision makers and later playing a leadership role in central andpolicymaking is carried out, as well as how public policy in general

regional policy making helped me to understand the mechanisms

is conceptualised. While all this is transpiring, all of you who areof governance.

students are likely feeling a degree of angst over choices you have

I didn't really have a clear plan to guide me in my career path.
Although it was on my own accord that I decided to choose a

to make regarding your future career paths. In any case, somehow
a decision has to be made.

career in public service and eventually to run for governor, I dare

I hope to pass along some of my cherished experiences and to do

say in hindsight that my father's career subconsciously inﬂuenced

what I can to help support the process of turning out a sizable

my decisions. My father went from a rural middle school in Iwate

cadre of capable individuals. Also, as you begin to contemplate

to Kyoto where he eventually graduated from Kyoto University.

your future career paths, I wish to lend support to you even if only

After graduation, he acted as an oﬃcial in the Ministry of Agricul-

in a small way.

ture and Forestry before going on to spend three terms as amember of the House of Councillors. Having also worked withmunicipal bodies, his career path and mine are remarkably similar.
In university, my father was suspended from attending his studies
due to his involvement as a leader of student activities related to
the Takigawa Incident (he was later re-instated). My father nevercoming across my father's name in an Iwanami book addressing
the Takigawa Incident. I remember my father being always
immersed in reading books from morning to night. Thanks to that,
I was brought up surrounded by collections of books; and so, from

From 1995, served three terms as Governor of Iwate Prefecture.
In 2007, inaugurated as Minister of Internal Aﬀairs and Communications.
Currently, an advisor to the Nomura Research Institute.

NEWSLETTER

spoke directly about this to me but I remember being surprised at

1

Commencement of a New International Program“Master of Public Policy, International Program”
Starts in October 2010・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・

Kotoko Ogawa,International Student Advisor
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In October 2010, the University of Tokyo's Graduate School of
Public Policy (GraSPP) will launch a new international degree program “Master of Public Policy, International Program (MPP/IP)”. It isa two-year master program designed to nurture a global perspective in public policy professionals who aspire to play a role on theinternational policy stage.
The principal language of instruction will be in English. The
curriculum has been developed to align with similar programs
oﬀered through top class international partner universities withthe ultimate goal of working toward the introduction of double
degree programs. The program embraces an Asian focus infused
into the rich array of tailor-made courses. Economic support has

Application submission period:

been put in place for deserving overseas students, especially those

For those also applying for World Bank or Asian Developmentfrom the Asian region through scholarships provided by the WorldBank scholarships:

1 November 2009 to 11 December 2009

Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

For all other applicants:

1 November 2009 to 29 January 2010

MPP/IP Web-site (in English) http://www.pp.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/mppip/index.htm
MPP/IP Pamphlet (PDF)
http://www.pp.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/mppip/documents/MPPIP-Pamphlet.pdf

Graduate School Course Report
No. 9

Maritime Industry Policy

Course Facilitator: Associate Professor, Tomoharu Hase

Mitsui & Co., Ltd. All of these lectures were designed to ferretout problems and indentify solutions to issues facing the maritime industry from an insider's perspective producing insights
to issues. These types of activities contribute signiﬁcantly toproviding a more comprehensive understanding of issues
related to the maritime industry.
The course facilitator, Professor Hase comes to academia
after a career with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Trans-

Eri Himoro(Public Administration Division, 2nd Year)

port and Tourism. Each class he provided us with scrupulously
prepared, valuable course materials. Thanks to his wealth ofexperience as a practitioner, the collection of materials that he

NEWSLETTER

hand-picked combined to produce a splendid study guide2

Maritime Industry Policy is a course which aims to broadenthat included key deﬁnitions related to maritime industry poli-

understanding about the maritime industry and policy issues

cies currently in force and current issues. As the course pro-related to this ﬁeld. The course methodically addresses a

gressed, so too did the amount of cumulative knowledge andbroad array of policy issues in areas such as ocean transport,

experience gleaned by the students thanks to Professor Hase's

foreign and domestic vessel cargo regulations, port policy,

measured yet passionate facilitation of the course.

maritime personnel policies, governance of maritime leisure

The course aims to ﬁt in with the raison d'être of the interdis-

activities and compensation policies related to marine pollu-

ciplinary program, UT Ocean Alliance, which is to addresstion. The course also provides opportunities to learn ﬁrst-handproblems confronting the marine environment from various

about the realities of the maritime industry from guest speak-

perspectives. I feel that this course accomplished this by pro-ers who work in the industry. During the past summer term,

viding students with a diversity of social science perspectives

we were treated to lectures from a variety of individuals fromthat in the end equipped students with a practical educational

Nippon Express, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Shin Nihonkai Ferry andfoundation in this ﬁeld.

Currently, I work part-time once a week with Solidarity Network with Migrants Japan (SMJ)*, and when
there is something special that needs attention, I come in to help. Next year, I will shift to full-time. SMJ is acountrywide network of NGOs that cooperate to help resolve human rights issues, provide support foressential services (medical treatment and legal matters) and help empower foreigners living and working inJapan. It was featured in the issue 125 (August 15, 2009) of Big Issue Japan. SMJ's key strength is the wealthof knowledge and diverse capabilities harnessed throughout a collaborative network comprised of regularpeople as well as activists, lawyers and researchers. In individual NGOs, if they lack vital information or arequisite skill, the ability to have an impact breaks down; but with an NGO coalition, the power of the
network can be tapped to ﬁnd the most appropriate person to oﬀer advice and support.
-What prompted you to join GraSPP?
I had aspirations to continue on to graduate studies since I was an undergraduate at Washington College, Maryland. I feel that in order to play a role on
the international stage, a master's degree as well as a specialisation are indispensible assets. I initially considered enrolling in law school but in the end I

GRADUATE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO-You are going to work for an NGO, aren't you?

chose public policy because beyond the foundations of law I wanted to study
about the mechanics of systematically evaluating present day problems.
During my days as an undergraduate student, I had the opportunity to visit a
number of countries as a volunteer or intern in conjunction with my ﬁeld ofstudy which was International Studies. These experiences taught me that locally
based root of human rights and democracy is the foremost importance for society. As I thought more about this, I realised that a strong civil society was an
essential part of the process. At the same time, a government and its public
policies are essential. However, there are situations where the interests of thestate and civil society are not necessarily compatible. To that end, my aspiration
is to become a public policy specialist who plays a bridging role between these
two elements.
Globally, Japan has a certain degree of inﬂuence and political power but to

Ms.Yukiko Omagari
International Public Policy Division, 2nd Year

Student

Interview

fully capitalise on this attribute, I felt I should join a Japanese graduate schoolthat would allow me to gain a deep understanding of Japanese administrative
practice. Moreover, I felt I also wanted to enrol in a Japanese graduate school of
public policy to build a personal network in Japan.
-What courses did you ﬁnd interesting?
“UN Security Council and Conﬂict Resolution“ taught by Prof. Shinichi Kitaoka and Prof. Hiroshi Matsuura(former Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Japan to the UN). All the reading assignments were primaryresources. Also there was "Case Study (International Conﬂict)" that was taught by Prof. Kiichi Fujiwara. Dueto my keen interest in International Relations, I initially felt that I had enough knowledge in this ﬁeld but thiscourse was extremely challenging and there was lots to learn in the class. I thought it was both interesting
and rewarding.
Through group work, I made a number of good friends. Students in the Graduate School of Public Policy
share a great deal in common such as our shared value for public interest, not for personal wealth.
-Is there anything about the Graduate School of Public Policy that you feel is lacking?
At GraSPP, I cannot think of anything that especially needs improvement but I do have a request in
regard to the law library. At Washington College, we were encouraged to visit at least two overseas universities as exchange students. In my case, I went to Rhodes University in South Africa, Bosphorus University inTurkey and the London School of Economics and Political Science in the UK. The extensive wealth of literature and specialized journals in the LSE library really stood out. Moreover, the materials could all be borrowed (albeit with a fee for late returns). At the University of Tokyo law library, GraSPP students can referdatabases at LSE and the University of Tokyo. It is vital for us to be able to access the most recent research ofleading international scholars.
*The homepage for SMJ is: http://www.jca.apc.org/migrant-net/English/English.html(Interview and text by editor)

NEWSLETTER

ence the books in the library but they cannot borrow them. Also, there is a huge diﬀerence between the3

Reﬂections on three years of“Risk Management and Public Policy”

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Professor

Makoto Saito, Faculty of Economics, Hitotsubashi University

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For the past three years I have served as Visiting Professor in the

However, for the graduate students that were in attendance, it“Risk Management and Public Policy” course sponsored by Sompo

may have been a bit diﬃcult to grasp the discussion due to theJapan Insurance Inc. Although I was drawn into the enterprisehigh level of discourse.

without any idea of the objectives of the series, I feel that the

The lecture held in the summer of 2008 focused on the legal sidesuccess of the lectures comes down to having been bestowed theof risk management. We were graced by lectures given by legal

ﬂexibility to change the contents as the need arose.

experts specializing in environmental laws and regulations. Amidst

My main task was to arrange for guest speakers. Although each

this lively discussion between legal experts, I was particularly

term we were blessed with very appealing guest lecturers, twostruck by the presentation on legal fundamentals given by Prof.

terms in particular stand out in my memory. I felt that the lecture

Cass Sunstein who has since become famous for his book entitledheld in the summer of 2007 was more like a high level research

Nudge (Yale University Press, 2008). I think it must have been aworkshop than a lecture. The focus was risk management pertain-

rewarding event for all.

ing to soil contamination, earthquakes and nuclear power genera-

Corporate sponsored lectures of this type inevitably have a focus

tion and the lecture was blessed through continuous input fromwhich tends to favor applied issues, but my frank impression frompractitioners who were grappling with these issues in their work

this series of lectures is that the scholarly approach taken to inves-

places. It turned out to be a signiﬁcant opportunity for us to com-tigating the present day problems related to risk management

prehensively discuss these issues with researchers and bureaucrats.

uncovered a number of issues that merit further research.

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Topical NewsThe i2ta Project (leader: Visiting Professor Tatsujiro Suzuki) held a workshop entitled “Envisioning society under the latest technology” from 1 pm to 3:30 pm on November 3.
Participants in the workshop were given an opportunity to consider the inﬂuence that thelatest technology will have on our lives. The event is part of Science Agora 2009 which isheld at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation.

NEWSLETTER

Project Researcher, Ayako Furuya

4

The student interviews keep getting more
and more enjoyable to conduct. It seems
Editorʼs
Postscript as if all of our students have colorful backgrounds and aren't afraid to share theirthoughts. In addition to some serious discussions, there
are occasional unexpected stories of love blossoming aswell as advice sessions on life. It is a shame that thesecannot all be included in the interviews. (But at the sametime I love to keep these secrets to myself.)

NEWSLETTER

19［Editor+publisher］GRADUATESCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY
THE UNIVERSIT Y OF TOKYONo.

東京大学公共政策大学院［date of publication］2010 . 1. 8
［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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