東京大学公共政策大学院 | GraSPP / Graduate School of Public Policy | The university of Tokyo

The class on Wednesday, October 2nd will be cancelled.

Sorry, this entry is only available in Japanese. For the sake of viewer convenience, the content is shown below in the alternative language. You may click the link to switch the active language.

2019年度「マクロ時系列の実証分析」（5123231）は不開講となります。 正式には9/25に確定しますが履修計画の影響を考慮して先に掲示します。

Since the last year of college, I strongly liked the idea of think tank to share knowledge to all, leading to informed policymaking. Naturally, I was so much attracted to Washington D.C., USA where hundreds of think tanks gather and make the unique ecosystem for policymaking and innovation. I spent almost one year in D.C. doing internships, exploring how think tanks help policymakers build a network and discuss policy options for the better future. One of the internships that I did was with the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University. I worked for the Edwin O. Reischauer Center for East Asian studies affiliated with SAIS under the supervision of Professor Kent Calder. As Dr. Calder was a well-known scholar in Japanese studies, I got a lot of exposure to Japan’s political economy and their policies and I became so interested in them. One day coincidentally, a GraSPP professor, who joined as a panel in an event that our Center organized, had a chat with me, listened to my interests, and encouraged me to apply for the GraSPP. Without his advice, I might not have thought of studying at the GraSPP, which was a life-changing decision. Looking back, although it sounds cliché, life is full of surprises and I want to be thankful for that.

Internship at SAIS

In fact, there was another surprise at GraSPP. Although I learned a great deal of Japan’s policies at GraSPP, I learned a lot more about international development. Not only economics to understand developmental issues, but also roles of international organizations to address these challenges. Furthermore, a field trip to Jakarta, Indonesia with Professor Nishizawa and Professor Kawai was a truly eye-opening experience to know more about how international development projects were taking place in practice. With all of these learning experiences at the GraSPP as well as my strong interests in think tanks, Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) was just the right place to work after graduation. As many of GraSPPers may already know, ADBI is the well-known government-linked think tank that is dedicated to researching and discussing development issues in ADB member countries. My internship at ADBI during the winter break at GraSPP was also helpful in making this career choice. 

Field trip to Jakarta, Indonesia 

At ADBI, I worked as a research associate in the capacity building and training department for year and a half. My main jobs were to organize training programs for Asian mid-level government officials and policy dialogues for high-level policymakers with my supervisors and partner organizations such as OECD. Among dozens of programs for which I was part of the organization team, ADBI-OECD-ILO Labor Migration Roundtables in Asia in 2018 and 2019 were tremendously valuable ones in finding my own research interests to explore the increasing international labor migration within the Asia Pacific region.

ADBI-OECD-ILO Roundtable on Labor Migration in Asia

While organizing the roundtables and contributing to the associated report, I was able to learn critical roles of recruitment agencies that affect labor migration outcomes both in sending and receiving countries. Also, I got to know that the feminization of labor migration is such an emerging trend in Asia and the Pacific with the increasing aging populations in some counties like Japan to meet care demand. With these more focused interests in international labor migration and development issues in Asia, I was able to get a Ph.D. admission from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) that has one of the richest migration research centers globally. Although tentative, I am planning to research roles of labor market intermediaries, such as recruitment agencies, in the migration process; and dynamics between gender, race, and class in the international labor migration at UCLA.   Without my experiences at GraSSP, my new journey at UCLA from this fall would not have been possible. GraSPP is a very unique place to learn public policy in Asia and to be competitive in a career as a result. Most of interviewers so far after graduation from GraSSP asked me about my experiences in Japan and GraSPP with a fond curiosity and respect. I hope you also to enjoy and learn a lot while you study at GraSPP and be a better version of yourself. Taking this opportunity, I would like to express my sincere gratitude for all of very kind GraSPP staff, professors, and friends that helped me spend truly meaningful time for the past years in Japan.     

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10/4（金）、10/11（金）の授業は休講です。

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10/1（火）の授業は休講です

Professor Toshiro Nishizawa was invited to give lectures as part of the course titled “Workshop in International Cooperation—East Asian International Order and the Peace-Prosperity Nexus” offered at Graduate School of International Studies (GSIS), Seoul National University. About 80 students with various backgrounds and nationalities attended the sessions on “Financing quality infrastructure in Asia—opportunities and challenges for the trilateral partnership” and “An Asian model of regional financial safety net—the case of AMRO and CMIM”.

The lectures focused on the possibility of trilateral partnership in the fields of infrastructure financing and regional financial stability in Asia in line with the course objective to understand issues in East Asian international order and the nexus between peace and prosperity in China, Japan and South Korea. In addition to the possibility of trilateral partnership in a broader geopolitical context, Professor Nishizawa discussed one of the underlying economic issues—i.e., how to correct shortcomings in the finance-development nexus through public policy with an effective incentive design and minimum market distortions. The discussion also covered China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the emergence of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), a new multilateral lender in Asia.

*GSIS is one of the two partner schools of GraSPP CAMPUS Asia Program with the Graduate School of International Relations at Peking University (SIS). This unique trilateral program called “CAMPUS Asia” facilitates student and faculty exchange to foster and nurture a generation of future world leaders through dynamic crossborder educational cooperation in East Asia throughout years.

For more details about the program, please visit CAMPUS Asia website.

― You started at The University of Tokyo as an undergraduate? My parents had urged me to study overseas, and in my third year in high school I applied for a program run by Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. As I was lucky enough to qualify, I did a year of preparatory study learning Japanese at The Tokyo University of Foreign Studies before starting at the Faculty of Economics, The University of Tokyo, which features excellent researchers and teachers together with a well-stocked library. One of the things that surprised me the most when I started as an undergraduate was how few women there were. Added to that, because my department had only 5% overseas students, I felt myself to be very much in a minority, being both a woman and from overseas. In contrast, this sense of being part of a minority all but disappeared when I started at GraSPP this year and found myself among people from a wide range of backgrounds, including different nationalities and ages. I like the comfortable atmosphere where you feel free to talk to people even if you don’t yet know their name, such as commenting on how hard the day’s lesson has been. I also find it interesting how many students have an awareness of the issues, having heard recently that a voluntary group for female empowerment has been started by students. ― It’s certainly true that GraSPP has students from many different countries and age ranges. While it is always the case when a large number of people get together that their opinions will differ, I find it constructive that such differences can be overcome through mutual discussion. While there are all sorts of definitions of what it means to be “international”, for myself, communicating with people in ways that do not discriminate or judge on the basis of each other’s nationality is a major component. Obviously, being Korean and a woman are both aspects of who I am, but even so, the best relationships in my view are those in which you can talk to each other without impressions being filtered by the person’s nationality or gender. While these things differ from person to person, one example is how much I prefer being introduced to someone I haven’t met before not as an overseas student from Korea but as a “tomodachi” (friend). While it is not unusual for the subject of nationality to come up when getting to know someone for the first time, I look forward to developing a mutual understanding with the person in the hope that I will be able to talk to them further. Given that there is still so much I don’t know about Japan despite having lived here for six years now, I am in no position to pass judgment about Japanese people having particular traits or to say that things are done in such and such a way in Japan. Likewise, one of the benefits of having been an overseas student in Japan is that it has freed me from stereotypical thinking about how things are in places like China or America. ― Why did you choose to major in economics? It was participation in volunteer work as a high school student that first prompted my interest in the subject. Out of concern for the problem of poverty, I joined a project to provide footwear to children in Africa who were prevented from going to school by the simple physical problem of lacking shoes. As collecting donations to buy new shoes for sending to the recipients was fraught with all sorts of problems during delivery, sometimes resulting in the shoes never reaching the children, our project involved drawing an attractive design on white shoes and sending these. I acquired my interest in development economics by thinking about questions such as why poverty happens and why past attempts to overcome it have proved ineffective. As my undergraduate studies did not go far enough, I chose to go on to graduate school. Right now my aim is to study hard and grow as a person, while in the future my hope is to find work that is beneficial to society.

My life in Todai undoubtedly was an once-in-a-life experience with full of enjoyable moments and academic stimulations. As a participant of CAMPUS Asia program who spent one semester in Todai, I had a privilege to have several opportunities not only to develop more in-depth knowledge towards Japan and China through a series of informative lectures and constructive discussions, but also to socialize and build understandings with other friends in the same program. In this context, I would like to briefly share what I learned and subjectively felt through this valuable and unforgettable experience in Japan as a CAMPUS Asia program participant.               First of all, the very first thing came into my mind when I thought about my life in Todai is its people. I’m so grateful to get to know such a nice and smart people in Todai. Especially, I remember staff members in administration office were always very kind and considerate since my arrival at Tokyo. Professors I encountered in class were also all well-prepared and enthusiastic in delivering lectures. Through these lectures, I was be able to build more understandings regarding my research interests, thus further developing my research. Lastly, the fellow students were the ones who gave me a lot of insights and stimulations. I could learn various different perspectives from students from diverse backgrounds, not to mention having lots of fun with them.               Secondly, I enjoyed an opportunity to learn Japanese while staying in Japan. Since Todai offered various chances to learn Japanese with quality language classes, cultural events, language exchange program, most of CAMPUS Asia participants including myself had a great chance to learn Japanese by participating in these events whenever we want. For me, I tried to make the most of opportunities to learn Japanese by participating in Todai’s aforementioned programs. I took the course offered by Engineering School and had language exchange once a week with one of the Todai fellow students. As a result, I was able to enhance my language skills a lot and this substantially helped me in developing more in-depth knowledge and understandings about Japan and its people.               Lastly, CAMPUS Asian Joint Course and programs included in the course such as field trip to the city of Hiroshima and special lectures helped me a lot in broadening my narrow perspectives and experiences. Professors from Peking University, Seoul National University, and Todai with their own special fields of study gave us lectures, and we had several chances to have constructive and active in-class discussion related to the issues. This experience actually provided me with lots of insightful lessons and chances to see different perspectives among Chinese, Japanese, and Korean students who seemingly share many similarities. Not only that, the field trip to Hiroshima and personal trips to places like Hokkaido, Hakone, Yokohama, Mt.Fuji, etc. all gave me certain lessons and joy.                 To sum up, I’m so grateful to have such a wonderful opportunity to have priceless experiences and good people while staying in Japan. Undoubtedly, this valuable experience was one important academic enrichment and would be a great help for further developing my future research. Thank you all for kind considerations during the stay. I definitely would love to come back to Japan in the near future.

CAMPUS Asia in Japan provided me with an academic and vivid experience to understand the ordinary life and society of this neighboring country with complex sentiments. Courses in UTokyo suitably integrated focuses on issues of Japan’s foreign policy and economic issues it would tend to deal with, which helped me encounter how Japanese academics and practitioners try to organize their country in future. Although I heard from a professor that Japan is not a hub of IR discipline in the world (while the IR courses are much fewer the economic policy courses in GraSPP-UTokyo), I still felt amazed with the academic-based courses such as ‘conflict resolution’ that its interactive-based study through online group work and integration of policy application in real world and theoretical thoughts based on case studies in contemporary conflict areas, such as Afghanistan and Syria. Another course was technology and warfare revolution, which was the first time I got a primary understanding of the changing of modes of conflicts in the history and factors related to the conduct of war, including economic extortion, state building and international law. However, vivid scenic spots during field trips impressed me more by helping interpreting the modernization of Japan and its culture rooted in ordinary life in all walks of life. I felt grateful for the CAMPUS Asia Staff for organizing Fall Retreat to Chiba and had an understanding of intertwine of land rights and left-wing movement during the construction of Narita Airport, showing us how the wave of revolutionary thoughts among students in 1960s could affect the ordinary issues in Japanese social development and its ebbing after 1990s with the finished erection of Narita Airport, declaring the vicissitude of Japan from the rapid development to a full developed economy. The Spring Field Study to Hiroshima gave me another opportunity to delve into the complex sentiments how Japanese understand their modern history. When entering the space of Hiroshima Peace Park, it is well-known that contemporary Japanese people would cherish the pacifism and refuse to wage war by showing us how the atomic bombs had struck the unknown citizens and left tragedies in their latter life, but ‘the tragedy narrative’ also refrained to recognize the responsibility of warmonger in the past, while Japan might simultaneously cherish and reminisce the evanescent glory of great power expansion after Meiji restoration before 1945, which is embodied in the Yamato Museum in Hiroshima, a military base previously and a symbol of peace at present, named after the largest battleship of Japan during WWII. The complex and perhaps antithetical historical narrative framework might still last for a long time and cause diverse emotions in surrounding nations including China and Korea. Speaking of my personal trip around Tokyo and Kanto area, it also helped me had a first look and experience of Japanese life and its urban development. It was the first time to find out the complex and complete integrated network of railway and underground system in Japan only with one transportation card to travel around multiple cities. Sightseeing in Yokohama and old capital of Kamakura helped me understand the modernization under introduction of Western lifestyle to Japan (the first firefighter institutions, water drainage system and press institution were started in Yokohama) and the traditional culture of Japan. Travelling in Japan might be an enjoyment for foreign visitors not only for its multilingual guiding brochures but also its tempted souvenirs which made you unforgettable in each scenic spots and museums. In a nutshell, CAMPUS Asia is a serendipity for me to understand Japan through living and studying in a foreign country, with its special academic studies, vivid field retreats and diverse aspects of its history and present. To understand the East Asia, you should not only through media, but more importantly, you should understand and let it become a part of life experience.

A Field Trip was conducted on July 23rd to 25th, as a compilation of CAMPUS Asia Joint Course: International Public Policy in East Asia. CAMPUS Asia Students from The University of Tokyo, Peking University and Seoul National University and faculty members visited Hiroshima Prefecture.

This trip is aimed at gaining multifaceted understanding of contemporary issues of East Asia through lectures, discussions, and site visits. We visit distinctive places in the destination which are relevant to learning history, peace and security, industry and culture.   

On the first day, we had a seminar at Hiroshima City University. Professor Gen Kikkawa gave a lecture on the dilemma of Japan-U.S. security alliance and changing security environment in Asia. Participants actively asked questions and had a chance to think for themselves on this theme.

On the second day, we visited Japan Coast Guard Academy and Professor Kentaro Furukawa posed a controversial question in his lecture on maritime security in East Asia. The students had a unique opportunity to discuss and exchange opinions with some maritime officers from Asian countries currently studying at the Academy.

We also visited Yamato Museum, Atomic Bomb Dome and Peace Memorial Museum, and Mazda Museum. All these powerful and convincing exhibitions unique to Hiroshima helped us to deepen our learning from various perspectives.

On the final day, we were lucky enough to have a clear and sunny weather and enjoyed the beautiful scenery of Seto Inland Sea and Miyajima, as well as the vermillion Itsukushima-Shrine set off against the blue sky. The trip was concluded in a very harmonious atmosphere with a class of Momiji Manju making, a local delicacy of the island.