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

  AY2018 Exchange and Double Degree Program is Now Open for Application!   1) AY2018 Exchange Program with FGV for Winter break (February – July) Application Due: Sun 11/5   2) AY2018 All other Exchange and Double Degree Programs for Autumn Semester Application Due: Wed 11/15   Please read the application guideline carefully and file your complete application by the deadline. ①AY2018 DD Application Guidelines,  AY2018 DD Application Form ②2018 Ex Application Guidelines & Application Form ③Info Session Slides ④Application Schedule Slides ⑤References（Reports from SIPA, Hertie & ANU, Dual Degree Program with Sciences Po, CAMPUS Asia Program）  

  Invitation for AY2018 Exchange and Double Degree Programs Information Session Date & Time:  Friday October 13th, 12:15-14:30 Venue: International Academic Research Bldg. Lecture Hall B If you wish to attend, please register from the below link. https://goo.gl/forms/lz8so8CO4tMRTbjC3 Application guidelines and procedural information will be available soon! (For your reference, the Double Degree/Exchange Program page is here.) For inquiries: exchange@pp.u-tokyo.ac.jp Office: Rm1314 at International Academic Research Bldg.  

  Invitation for AY2018 Exchange and Double Degree Programs Information Session Date & Time: Friday October 13th, 12:15-14:30 Venue: International Academic Research Bldg. Lecture Hall B If you wish to attend, please register from the below link. https://goo.gl/forms/lz8so8CO4tMRTbjC For your reference only, the most up-to-date application guidelines are NOW available! (We will begin accepting applications after the information session.) ①AY2018 DD Application Guidelines & AY2018 DD Application Form ②2018 Ex Application Guidelines & Application Form *Hard copies will be provided at the information session.   (For your reference, the Double Degree/Exchange Program page is here.） For inquiries: exchange@pp.u-tokyo.ac.jp Office: Rm1314 at International Academic Research Bldg.  

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【Scholarship】研究助成の公募について　〈リバネス、メルコ、笹川科学〉 本部奨学厚生課奨学チームから標記の助成金について募集通知がありましたのでお知らせします。 希望者は以下のPDFファイルを確認の上、直接応募してください。 ・ リバネス研究費　　　　　　 チラシ ・ メルコ学術振興財団　　　　募集要項 ・ 笹川科学研究助成　　　　　チラシ

I had huge expectations of the internship at GR Japan, as I heard many great things about the experiences from my “senpais” and friends. I was heading towards the end of my stay in Japan, and I was debating whether the two weeks could be better spent elsewhere. But, I decided that I am up for the challenge, and I have not regretted my decision. GR Japan is a company that specializes in dealing with government relations and providing consulting services to those companies that look to penetrate into or expand their share in the Japanese market, familiarize themselves with relevant policy trends in Japan, or even lobby to have them work favorably to their business interests. Other works include providing stakeholder mapping, translation and research services. The kind of work that is being done in GR Japan is, arguably, as close as it gets to the practical application of classroom learning in public policy. This was what I was hoping to get out of the experience, as well as the experience of having worked for a Japanese company (although GR Japan is by no means a typical Japanese company, and that is in a very positive way). I was a little unsure as to whether my Japanese proficiency was up for the task, but my colleagues were considerate of my limitations and strengths and assigned me work that I could learn from and meaningfully contribute to. It was the first time (and possibly the last) to have done a Japanese-English translation, and although there is no doubt that two weeks were too short, I improved my Japanese. I also looked into some research concerning a potential lawsuit regarding Intellectual Property Rights violation and wrote biographies of relevant stakeholders. The two weeks overlapped nicely with the cabinet reshuffle period, and I could listen to some expert opinions on the appointments. Located in Tameikesanno, which is the heart of Japan’s politics, GR Japan offers an experience that was an interesting mold of “the goods” from Japanese companies and multi-national corporations. The colleagues all had first-hand experience with authentic Japanese politics and were very devoted, but the working atmosphere and conditions were close to those of Google. Despite my short stay, I had small welcoming and farewell parties, and we even managed to sneak in one nomikai with my younger colleagues. There are two regrets that I have of my experience at GR Japan. One is that I could not carve out a larger chunk of my summer vacation that I could have spent for a longer internship. The second is that I did not have time to stop by the office when I came back to Tokyo for my graduation. Besides those two, my internship experience at GR Japan was truly great, and I can say with confidence that I learned a lot. I would strongly recommend my friends and “kouhais” to strongly consider doing an internship at GR Japan, if he/she is interested in Japanese policymaking (as should all students of GraSPP should be). I thank all those at GR Japan and the internship office for making my experience possible.

In March 2016, I moved to Basel, the third largest city in Switzerland, to get married to a Swiss man I met ten months before, leaving Tokyo, where I had lived for thirty-four years. Although it was difficult for me to be away from my dear family and friends, I chose to create a new family. I had to put away my academics and career for a while. Having graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Tokyo, gone on to GraSPP and worked at one of Japan's leading newspapers for eight years, the move I made was drastic. My classmates at GraSPP have fantastic careers. They’re busy working for the country and the people of Japan or on rather hectic overseas business trips for international organizations. Some of them have started their own companies and opened up a lot of business opportunities. The impressive faculty lineup includes many opinion leaders who assume a heavy responsibility at various capacities. They're also frequently asked for comments by the media. We always talk up a storm about politics and economics at our reunions. The network of contacts that I have built though GraSPP has been an inspiration for my life both personally and professionally. To be honest, I felt a great deal of anxiety that I might feel inferior on my next meeting with them after giving up my title and becoming a housewife. However, on the other hand, I was proud that I don't lose my sense, no matter the situation. That was because of the network I had built. In fact, I often see Facebook posts from my friends and acquaintances telling of their recent successes or what they have been up to in real time. I can’t just make self-deprecating posts. Since I was a journalist in the past, I have always wanted to write and report about differences between cultures, which I experienced through living in Switzerland. I have my fellow classmates that are happy to see me when I return temporarily to Japan because I stay connected with them, and that’s what keeps me motivated to work. I’m thankful enough for what the social media have done to make it possible, but I believe there are some other reasons why I’m able to keep connected with my GraSPP classmates. I enrolled at GraSPP in 2006, the third year of the school's existence. Since there had been no graduates yet when I was accepted into the school, I did not know exactly what kind of job opportunities I would have after a graduating. When I was on campus, I used to go back and forth between Administration Bureau Building 2, the School of Law Building and the Faculty of Economics. Professor Akira Morita, the first Dean of GraSPP, was having lunch meetings with students to improve the studying environment. It was a period you might call the early days of GraSPP. I feel like we all shared a spirit of determination to make GraSPP into something and make it widely known, although no one has said that. There was also a little bit of a feeling halfway between rivalry and inferiority to law school students studying upstairs. You rarely come across so many friends and associates with whom you can share such distinctive feelings in your life. The classes the school offered were all fascinating for me, as my initial goal was to work for the government. Both active and former government officials gave lectures by sharing their experiences and different perspectives on topical issues. As part of the classes, I developed a reform plan for the social security system and actually wrote the text of a law. Another example of the classes is one where we arrange appointments for interviews with experts and write articles. As the school is known to offer practical training, the classes consisted essentially of practical exercises, all of which were beyond my expectations. However, I realized that the policy making process was much more complicated, dynamic and raw in reality after becoming a journalist. I don’t know how many times I wanted to take those classes again and bombard professors with questions. Even after graduating, GraSPP can really enrich my life by keeping me in touch with professors and fellow students. If I had continued working as a reporter for another few years, many fellow classmates who are now government officials would have been promoted to the level of division chief. Some of them might have become vice ministers or powerful politicians 30 years later, and I could have gotten all the exclusive information I wanted from them. Part of me feels a kind of regret about quitting, but I knew I could do something in my new set-up. Fortunately, I got a job as a reporter and editor for a website that provides Swiss news in Japanese. What I wanted to do as a Japanese person living in Switzerland was to report on various economic and financial issues that are common to both Switzerland and Japan, such as aging and breaking with nuclear power. It may not be anything sensational, but it’s certainly worth doing. More importantly, I can still pursue a career in the media while securing sufficient time for my family. I think it’s quite a favorable and luxurious environment for me. Lastly, I was asked to give advice to young students, but I have found it difficult to come up with things to tell them, who are much better students and more promising than I was. Instead, I would like to ask you to be involved in the alumni association (Tatsuoka Kai) as much as possible and its events in order to keep it active. Being a staff member is wonderful, but just participating in the events or replying quickly to a name list renewal notice will be extremely helpful. If you happen to see me at those events, please feel free to say hello, and I will appreciate getting to know what you’re studying or what line of work you’re pursuing.   Swissinfo.ch　https://www.swissinfo.ch/jpn  

(October 3, 2017)

Overlooking the Rhine from the Basel Minister (July 2016)

In March 2016, I moved to Basel, the third largest city in Switzerland, to get married to a Swiss man I met ten months before, leaving Tokyo, where I had lived for thirty-four years. Although it was difficult for me to be away from my dear family and friends, I chose to create a new family. I had to put away my academics and career for a while. Having graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Tokyo, gone on to GraSPP and worked at one of Japan's leading newspapers for eight years, the move I made was drastic. My classmates at GraSPP have fantastic careers. They’re busy working for the country and the people of Japan or on rather hectic overseas business trips for international organizations. Some of them have started their own companies and opened up a lot of business opportunities. The impressive faculty lineup includes many opinion leaders who assume a heavy responsibility at various capacities. They're also frequently asked for comments by the media. We always talk up a storm about politics and economics at our reunions. The network of contacts that I have built though GraSPP has been an inspiration for my life both personally and professionally. To be honest, I felt a great deal of anxiety that I might feel inferior on my next meeting with them after giving up my title and becoming a housewife. However, on the other hand, I was proud that I don't lose my sense, no matter the situation. That was because of the network I had built. In fact, I often see Facebook posts from my friends and acquaintances telling of their recent successes or what they have been up to in real time. I can’t just make self-deprecating posts. Since I was a journalist in the past, I have always wanted to write and report about differences between cultures, which I experienced through living in Switzerland. I have my fellow classmates that are happy to see me when I return temporarily to Japan because I stay connected with them, and that’s what keeps me motivated to work. I’m thankful enough for what the social media have done to make it possible, but I believe there are some other reasons why I’m able to keep connected with my GraSPP classmates. I enrolled at GraSPP in 2006, the third year of the school's existence. Since there had been no graduates yet when I was accepted into the school, I did not know exactly what kind of job opportunities I would have after a graduating. When I was on campus, I used to go back and forth between Administration Bureau Building 2, the School of Law Building and the Faculty of Economics. Professor Akira Morita, the first Dean of GraSPP, was having lunch meetings with students to improve the studying environment. It was a period you might call the early days of GraSPP. I feel like we all shared a spirit of determination to make GraSPP into something and make it widely known, although no one has said that. There was also a little bit of a feeling halfway between rivalry and inferiority to law school students studying upstairs. You rarely come across so many friends and associates with whom you can share such distinctive feelings in your life. The classes the school offered were all fascinating for me, as my initial goal was to work for the government. Both active and former government officials gave lectures by sharing their experiences and different perspectives on topical issues. As part of the classes, I developed a reform plan for the social security system and actually wrote the text of a law. Another example of the classes is one where we arrange appointments for interviews with experts and write articles. As the school is known to offer practical training, the classes consisted essentially of practical exercises, all of which were beyond my expectations. However, I realized that the policy making process was much more complicated, dynamic and raw in reality after becoming a journalist. I don’t know how many times I wanted to take those classes again and bombard professors with questions. Even after graduating, GraSPP can really enrich my life by keeping me in touch with professors and fellow students. If I had continued working as a reporter for another few years, many fellow classmates who are now government officials would have been promoted to the level of division chief. Some of them might have become vice ministers or powerful politicians 30 years later, and I could have gotten all the exclusive information I wanted from them. Part of me feels a kind of regret about quitting, but I knew I could do something in my new set-up. Fortunately, I got a job as a reporter and editor for a website that provides Swiss news in Japanese. What I wanted to do as a Japanese person living in Switzerland was to report on various economic and financial issues that are common to both Switzerland and Japan, such as aging and breaking with nuclear power. It may not be anything sensational, but it’s certainly worth doing. More importantly, I can still pursue a career in the media while securing sufficient time for my family. I think it’s quite a favorable and luxurious environment for me. Lastly, I was asked to give advice to young students, but I have found it difficult to come up with things to tell them, who are much better students and more promising than I was. Instead, I would like to ask you to be involved in the alumni association (Tatsuoka Kai) as much as possible and its events in order to keep it active. Being a staff member is wonderful, but just participating in the events or replying quickly to a name list renewal notice will be extremely helpful. If you happen to see me at those events, please feel free to say hello, and I will appreciate getting to know what you’re studying or what line of work you’re pursuing.   Swissinfo.ch　https://www.swissinfo.ch/jpn  

(October 3, 2017)

Overlooking the Rhine from the Basel Minister (July 2016)

The 10th annual GPPN Conference, hosted by the Sciences Po School of Public Affairs, featured students' solution oriented ideas and prototypes to address public policy challenges identified by the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To participate, each GPPN member school carefully selected up to five student teams to present their projects and compete for the GPPN prize. The result: 32 teams from around the world met in Paris to showcase their ideas on how to solve some of the most pressing global challenges of today.  Innovative Approach to Policymaking in the Fight Against STDs was selected as one of the six GPPN finalists at the annual conference.    

This application is an instrument to address STD/HIV problems. There are 4 main concepts: first, to use ICT (smartphones) to reach the target audience; second, to nudge users by collaborating with the private sector; third, to provide knowledge through casual chat; and fourth, to maintain the privacy of the users with an image of Otona-poi. The expected outcome is to raise awareness about sex, contraception and STD/HIVs.

 

Meet the team

Isamu Itosu (Peru), received his Juris Doctor from Universidad del Pacífico in Lima, he is a Nippon Foundation scholar and is currently a first year MPP candidate at the University of Tokyo. As a lawyer, he worked as the Academic Assistant to the Dean at Universidad del Pacifico and as a Research Assistant on legal studies related to antidiscrimination law. Interested in International Public Law and Human Rights, he is eager to specialize on the design of public policies that can respond to the demands of a more diverse and inclusive society, through the interaction between Law, Public Policy and Public-Private Partnerships.

 Ilia Beloly (Russia), obtained his undergraduate degree in Management. He has done a year abroad in Belgium and realized an internship in the EU administration. After college, he worked as a risk analyst in IB in Russia, but switched to quality management, due to his passion about Kaizen and Lean management philosophy. This is the reason why he entered to an automotive business and worked as a quality engineer. He is currently pursuing his master’s degree specializing in Energy Policy at The University of Tokyo. As a research topic he pursues to connect engineering with policy making.

Asuka Kobayashi (Japan), is currently pursuing her master’s degree in public policy, and did her undergraduate degree in Political Science and International Development, with a focus on education. She has worked in various educational development projects through her internships at UNESCO-IIEP, JICA and Human Rights Watch, as well as through her volunteering experiences at several NGOs in developing countries. She currently interns at the World Economic Forum to promote public-private partnerships on various agendas including education.

Liu Zhuofeng (China). A second-year student of GraSPP of the University of Tokyo. His studies at the University of Tokyo began in 2015, after receiving the Japan Human Resource Development Scholarship for Chinese Young Leaders. Before coming to Japan, he worked in the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China (SIPO). In SIPO he was in charge of the International IP data cooperation mainly in the JPO-KIPO-SIPO framework (patent offices from Japan, Korea and China) and IP5 framework (patent offices from EU, Japan, Korea, USA and China).

The 10th annual GPPN Conference, hosted by the Sciences Po School of Public Affairs, featured students' solution oriented ideas and prototypes to address public policy challenges identified by the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To participate, each GPPN member school carefully selected up to five student teams to present their projects and compete for the GPPN prize. The result: 32 teams from around the world met in Paris to showcase their ideas on how to solve some of the most pressing global challenges of today.   

Recent studies and investigations have shown the growing cross-regional domestic market for trafficked children in China. This project analyzes the problem structure of Chinese domestic child trafficking and proposes a child-centered policy intervention for its prevention and the protection of its victims. Four main structural causes drive the supply and demand of trafficked children; namely, the one-child policy, traditional preference of male heirs, lack of public welfare, and the rural-urban regional economic disparity. We propose as one effective policy intervention the Integrated Family and Childcare Center (IFCC) which includes the functions of i) family capacity building as alternative institutions to trafficking brokers, ii) facilitation of safe and legal adoption, and iii) family-based care for non-adopted children. We contend that taking a child-centered approach to prevent trafficking and protect victims is needed to protect the basic rights and future of children, as well as to prevent the far-reaching socioeconomic consequences of child trafficking and exploitation in China.

 

 

Meet the team

Yue Feng: I am a master student of public policy at the University of Tokyo, and recipient of the Mitsubishi Corporation Scholarship. I take an active part in extra-curricular activities. I am the section leader of the Jing Forum 2016, which holds political and economic discussions with representatives from Peking University and the University of Tokyo. In addition, I have internship experience with UNFPA, Barclays investment banking division, and the Citi Group investment banking division which has provided me with valuable experience in working with people from multi-cultural backgrounds, as well as finishing tasks well under tight deadlines in a stressful working environment.

Shohei Yoshizawa: I am a master student from the International Public Policy Program in the University of Tokyo. My interests are international political issues, conflict resolution and peacebuilding. I belong to the International Peacebuilding Association which is led by Dr. Hasegawa, who is the former Special Representative to the Secretary General of the UN. Additionally, I have real-world experiences working as a volunteer during the 42nd G7 Summit and in JCCP, the only Japanese NGO focusing on peacebuilding. I will also do an internship at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, and study at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin as a double degree student this year.

Nanami Kawashima: I am a master’s student in public policy at the University of Tokyo and a recipient of the Global Leader for Social Design and Management Scholarship. I studied for one year at Sciences Po PSIA specializing in Sino-Japanese relations. I was on the student management team of various international student conferences, such as the Japan-China-Korea Youth Forum sponsored by the UN Association and the G8 Youth Summit. I am passionate about social welfare and labor policies, and have research internship experiences about female entrepreneurship, feminism movements in 20th century Asia, and women’s employment policies.

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.

Scholarship: いわき市未来につなぐ人財応援奨学金返還支援事業について 希望者は以下のPDFファイルを確認の上、直接申請してください。 ・チラシ（ PDF, 1.27 MB ） ・募集要項（ PDF, 232 KB ） ・Q&A（ PDF, 284KB ）