NEWSLETTER
NO.

18

2009 . 10 . 20

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

INDEX

1

Mitsui Fudosan Sponsored Lecture Series “Envisioning Real Estate Securitization” Commences

2

New Program Promotion: Visit to Vietnam and Cambodia ／ International Student Trip to Ikaho Onsen

3

Student Interview

4

Graduate School Course Report No.8 ／ Topical News

Aleksandra Dimitrova Milusheva

Mitsui Fudosan Sponsored Lecture Series“Envisioning Real Estate Securitization” Commences
Project Professor

Nobuhiro Naito

This year marks the commencement of a 3-year lecture series

Policy heads our group, and Visiting Professor Shinji Mouri

sponsored by Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd. on the theme “Envisioning(Director of Personnel Division, Minister's Secretariat, Ministry ofReal Estate Securitization (ERES)” . In the 10 years since real estate

Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism), Assistant Professor

securitization was originally introduced in Japan, the market scale

Jiro Yoshida, Assistant Professor Reiji Kurima, and myself (senior

has grown to approximately 45 trillion yen (Ministry of Land, Infra-

researcher, the Association for Real Estate Securitization). We will

structure, Transport and Tourism statistics). It has also helped toalso be enlisting for the management committee the support ofrevitalize the Japanese economy by reaching beyond domestic

Prof. Toshihiro Ihori, Prof. Akira Morita, Prof. Minoru Nakazato, andborders to entice a broader base of overseas investors to invest in

Associate Professor Noriyuki Yanagawa who are all leading authori-Japan's real estate sector.

ties in their ﬁelds.

In today's global economy, real estate securitization provides aReal estate securitization is still an emerging ﬁeld despite real

stable market for real estate assets. It represents a worthy

estate's pervasive inﬂuence over human livelihood. If we think ofapproach for promoting sustained economic growth throughreal estate securitization as a mechanism for combining real estate

domestic demand-led economic recovery. However, in the midst

with the monetary system, there is nothing unusual about it. Inof sweeping change in the public economic sector, ﬁscal discipline

closing, we would like to extend an invitation to individuals with amust continue to be preserved. Moreover, it is desirable to create

diversity of perspectives ranging from municipal development topublically participative, responsive real estate securitization

ﬁnance to participate in our activities and humbly ask for all those

approaches that can be eﬀective in supporting civic/regional plan-in GraSPP to lend us your support.

ning policies and housing policies that bolster municipal capacity
to eﬀectively support an aging, low-carbon society.
This lecture series will investigate these themes by enlisting thecollaboration of industry, academia and government. It will promote exchange opportunities, education and research. This year
saw the introduction of two courses, “Case Study: Real Estate Securitization and Urban Regional Policy” and “Real Estate SecuritizaNEWSLETTERtion” . Moreover, there are plans for public forums and seminars
which are expected to broaden the level of discourse pertaining toreal estate securitization.
Dean Yoshitsugu Kanemoto of the Graduate School of PublicTokyo Midtown : Example of Broader Application of Real Estate Securitization1

New Program Promotion:
Professor

Visit to Vietnam and Cambodia

Shinichi Nakabayashi

We undertook a visit to Vietnam and Cambodia in order to intro-

signals, merely crossing Hanoi's roads can be quite the challenge.

duce our new program, MPP/IP (Master of Public Policy, Interna-

The trick to crossing is to wait for what appears to be a thinningtional Program), to a pool of talented prospective candidates without of traﬃc and to slowly walk straight ahead; but with that said,

Asian leadership aspirations. The program is slated to commence

just as I became accustomed to the practice, I was almost run

in the autumn of 2010. Enticing features of the program include i)down by a motorcycle.

the ability to study leading international economic and politicaltheories while also experiencing the essence of Japanese experi-

On the other hand, Cambodia is a late blooming ASEAN economy

ences, ii) a chance to join the ever-expanding elite circle of alumni

which is just now succumbing to the forces of globalization andfrom the Japanese political and economic ﬁelds, iii) a chance topressures to transition to a market economy. When we visited its

learn from leading authorities and practitioners of Japan at thecentral bank, part of the discussion centered on the desire toheart of Tokyo.

acquire the know-how necessary to support the transition from aplanned economy to a market economy. Later at the Ministry of

In Vietnam our ﬁrst visit was to the Ministry of Planning andEconomy and Finance, an impassioned host of questions related toInvestment. By and large, the staﬀ that attended the brieﬁng had

scholarship opportunities and application requirements were put

economic backgrounds which perfectly suited the program proﬁle.

forth by the 50 or so staﬀ members in the program orientation

Later, the Ministry of Finance, which has in recent years become

session. By visiting these two countries, I could really sense thethe nucleus for economic administration, expressed the wish toheightened expectations for this new program and keenly realised

dispatch many highly capable specialists in economic policy tothe need to disseminate information on the program throughstudy in our program.

pamphlets and our web-site.

Vietnam, with an extensive north to south coastline, boasts a
population of about 85 million. It borders South China economic
region and, along with Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, is part of theGreater Mekong Sub-region. In recent years, Vietnam has experienced rapid economic growth thanks to overseas direct investment. In Hanoi, Japanese motorcycles and Japanese cars can beseen everywhere competing for road space. With few traﬃc

International Student Trip to Ikaho Onsen
I had the chance to travel to the Ikaho Onsen for an international student trip in the beginning of June. I was able to meet many new people from diﬀerent countries and deepen myunderstanding of Japanese culture.
We had the opportunity to learn through hands-on experiences about facets of Japaneseculture that are largely unknown. We observed how “Kokeshi” dolls are made, and painted ourown Kokeshi. It was more diﬃcult than I expected and required a steady hand, but I was
pleased with how my Kokeshi turned out. At the Haruna Glass factory, we observed how glass
was molded into various shapes. We also visited the Toy, Doll & Car Museum. This museum
had a wide variety of goods from diﬀerent countries including stuﬀed animals, teddy bears, a
Ford Model T, Japanese movie posters in the 50s, and French chocolate. We also had thechance to paint our own Kewpie doll.
I also was able to enjoy nature. The Mizusawa Kanon we visited was surrounded by a lush
forest, and we learned about diﬀerent customs such as turning the hexagonal tower three
NEWSLETTER

times to the left to grant your wish. We traveled across the Haruna Lake by a boat shaped like a2swan and took in the breathtaking scenery. We also were able to view the local scenery in theoutdoor hot spring.
This trip allowed me to get to know other international students and better understand Japanese culture and was a very memorable experience for me.

Lori Wallin (from the US)

From a very young age I developed a yearning for foreign cultures, languages and lifestyles andharbored a deep desire to go abroad to study when I got older. In high school, I studied English andSpanish and never thought of studying anywhere else except in an English speaking country. However, I ended up being so pre-occupied with my studies that I was unable to collect the informationnecessary to apply for overseas scholarships. Consequently, I wound up enrolling in a university in
Bulgaria when I ﬁnished high school. In my ﬁrst year, I heard that the Japanese Ministry of Education,
Culture, Sports, Science and Technology oﬀered scholarships to study in Japan. I applied and was
successful. So for three months, I grappled with the challenge of intensively learning Japanese using
the textbook “Minna no Nihongo” . It seems that this textbook is universally used. An exchange
student coming from Thailand told me he also used this book.
-Please tell us your impressions as a student in Japan.
In the ﬁrst year, I studied Japanese at the Japanese Language Center of theTokyo University of Foreign Studies. After that, I enrolled in the undergraduate

GRADUATE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO-Why did you choose to come to Japan as a place of higher education?

law program at Hitotsubashi University. There were many foreign students at
Hitotsubashi and many parties and events to encourage cultural exchange. At
Hitotsubashi, I found classes by Prof. Ryo Oshiba, Prof. Atsushi Yamada andProf. Takahiko Tanaka (now at Waseda University) to be very interesting. All
these classes pertained to international relations, my initial ﬁeld of specialisation. When it came to choosing a graduate school, although I was also
accepted to the School of International and Public Policy at Hitotsubashi, I felt
I could use a change of environment so I decided to join GraSPP. Currently, I

Aleksandra Dimitrova Milusheva(from Bulgaria)

am enrolled in the International Public Policy program. One class that I reallyvalued was Prof. Keisuke Iida's Case Study course, International Political
Economy. I also thought that classes by Prof. Kiichi Fujiwara (Case Study:
International Conﬂict) and Prof. Shinichi Kitaoka (UN Security Council and theConﬂict Resolution) were really good.
I have just completed the job search process. I received a tentative oﬀer from

Student

a consulting company; but in the end, I decided to go to work for a large secu-

Interview

rities ﬁrm. As an undergraduate, I had internships that took me to India andCambodia and these experiences prompted a desire to work in the development assistance ﬁeld. Those around me advised that if I wanted to participate
in such a ﬁeld, I should ﬁrst gain business experience. So now my goal is toobtain such experience.
Up to now, I have been absorbed in my studies so my life is a bit out ofbalance. I haven't been able to mix with friends much. Now my concern isthat upon entering the workforce, the situation will not change very much.
Instead of being absorbed with studies, I will be engrossed with work andwind up with no private life.
-Have you had much contact with other foreign students?
Very little with exchange students in GraSPP. I haven't even had the opportunity to go to theInternational Center in Administration Bureau Building 2.
-Did you travel anywhere in Japan?
When I was enrolled in the Japanese school, I spent two weeks or so in Kitami City, Hokkaido. With
the green surroundings and the blue sky, it reminded me of rural areas of Bulgaria. My hometown isa small village near the old capital of Plovdiv where one can still ﬁnd ancient Roman ruins.
-What are your additional impressions of Japan?
roads were but it was not so much the case in towns. Additionally, since I was in Japan I wanted to
speak Japanese. But I guess everyone around me - both inside and outside GraSPP - saw in me achance to practice English and so spoke to me in English. Even though I replied in Japanese, people
would continue to speak to me in English. I was slightly bothered by that.

(interview and text by editor)

NEWSLETTERAs I came in on the bus from Narita airport I was impressed by how litter free and expansive the3Graduate School Course Report
No. 8

Basic Policy Analysis and Planning
Prof. Takashi Tokunaga

degree of conviction. Each presentation climaxed with debates
pertaining to the analysis. There were even occasions when thedebates heated up and the classes ran considerably over time.
You must admit that it is a rare event where most students
become so immersed in a class that they lose track of time!
Prof. Tokunaga who facilitates the course was with the
National Police Agency prior to joining the GraSPP faculty. In

Takamasa Matsudo(Economic Policy Division, 2nd Year)class, he signiﬁcantly inﬂuenced our perspectives on policy
analysis and planning in terms of justice, eﬀectiveness, immediacy and viability through a tempered, logical evaluation of

Basic Policy Analysis and Planning examines the policy analy-

our opinions on a given policy. Occasionally behind his calm,

sis and planning process by using police administration as ameasured exterior, we could catch a glimpse of the passion hecontextual theme. The ﬁrst half of the course consisted ofholds for police administration and his resolute belief honed

lectures by Prof. Tokunaga on topics related to policy analysis.

through years of hands on practice that above all else “crime is

In the latter half of the course, students formed groups toabsolutely unforgiveable” . The presence of such passion anddissect and present their analysis of recently established legis-

conviction made his remarks all the more persuasive.

lation and amendments related to topics such as weapons

It is not excessive to state that policies are meant to realize

legislation and internet date-site regulatory legislation. For

societal ideals. It is not possible to mobilize people to support

these assignments, the groups thoroughly vetted reams ofsuch policies in the absence of passion and conviction. Prof.

material pertaining to social backgrounds, policy eﬀectivenessTokunaga's words and actions in the course indelibly conveyed

and future challenges related to existing regulations andthis point. This class was not about superﬁcial techniques andamendments. They were then asked to envision themselves as

knowledge ; this was a class that drove home bold approaches

law makers and present their ﬁndings with an appropriate

to thinking for future policy analysts and planners.

Topical News2009 Overseas Exchange Student
Social Gathering
An overseas exchange student gathering, “Get Together Party 2009”

I2TA is a project which focuses on the implementation of technology

was held in one of the special function rooms of the Sanjo Conference

assessment and its establishment in society. Visiting Professor Tastujiro

Hall on June 12, 2009. Approximately 25 people of faculty members,

Suzuki heads up the group which includes various members from ainternational program administration staﬀ, and current, past and aspir-

number of institutions. Recently I2TA

ing exchange students attended the party. For students who were plan-

has published the ﬁrst number ofning on going overseas to study, it was a chance to consult with past

“TA Note” which provides news on

exchange students and learn about their experiences ﬁrst hand. Many

project developments and relatedcommented that it would be terriﬁc to have more similar events andtopics including an overview ofother types of socializers in the future.
Kotoko Ogawa, International Student Advisor

recent trends in risk assessment andmanagement in multi-walled carbon
nanotube development.
Future issues of TA Note will
provide updates on various themes
related to this project.

NEWSLETTER

Go Yoshizawa, Project Lecturer

4

Editorʼs
Postscript

In speaking with Aleksandra, it
prompted deeper reﬂection ona subconscious Japanese habit.
Her comment that when a personfrom another country uses Japanese to conversethat the person also wishes to receive a reply in

NEWSLETTER

18［Editor+publisher］GRADUATESCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY
THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYONo.

東京大学公共政策大学院［date of publication］2009 . 10 . 20
［design］Masahiro ABiCo

Japanese was a revelation to me. When in Japan,

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

speak as the Japanese speak.

E-mail grasppnl @ pp.u- tokyo.ac. jp(The Editor)

http://www.pp.u-tokyo.ac.jp