Faculty

Graduate School of International Studies and Regional Development

Phillip Bennett

This is a course designed for postgraduate students aiming to improve their skills at giving academic presentations. The course covers both poster session and Powerpoint presentations and focuses on the structure of effective presentations as well as the language skills to present in a confident and detailed manner.

Boyu Chen

My research interests lie in how domestic politics exert influence on international relations. I supervise topics related to the factors that influence East Asian international relations, such as national identity, party politics, and democratic/authoritarian systems. Students will be able to critically review previous literature, set up clear research questions, and apply mixed methods in their studies.

Melodie Lorie Cook

In this course, students will learn how to write essays, do research, synthesize ideas, and avoid plagiarism by using citations and references. Students will also learn how to identify and correct common writing errors in their own and others’ work.

Seiji Fujii

Research activities I could supervise will include public choice theories using voting results and quality of life studies using public opinion survey data. Although I respect students’ research interests, I would recommend regression analysis. In order for students to complete dissertations based on empirical evidence, I advise systematically on setting up hypotheses, literature review and data collection, data analysis, and hypothesis testing.

Kyoko Hatakeyama

I will supervise research students who are interested in international relations, in particular, security issues in the Asia-Pacific region. Yet, due to deepening globalization, security issues are closely intertwined with economic issues. The research topics are, therefore, not necessarily limited to the security field. Rather, I encourage students to analyze the security issue from a wider perspective. Although I analyze a state’s behavior from a constructivist perspective, any theoretical position is welcome.

Kentaro Hirose

My research interests lie in formal and quantitative analysis of international politics, especially conflict and cooperation among states. I am happy to supervise any student who is interested in conducting research based on social science methodology.

Susumu Ito

Based on experience in international development as a development practitioner, my research interest includes policy aspects of economic and social development in developing countries, mainly in Southeast Asia. In order to analyze the development issues of developing countries and regions in the ever-changing international environment, it is important to be equipped with the understanding of not only economics but also other disciplines such as international relations and politics. Therefore, while respecting and enhancing students’ research interests in international development as much as possible, I will supervise research from various perspectives for students to be able to deliver fruitful research results.

Jia Li

Students are expected to choose a topic about economic development in developing countries (particularly long-term economic changes) for their Master’s theses. The theses should combine both the theoretical and empirical components, preferably showing policy implications. I will advise students through the process of thesis writing systematically, with an emphasis on establishing a theoretical framework, clarifying research questions, collecting statistical data, and conducting quantitative analysis.

Erika Miller

I use a historical approach to understand international affairs, analysing archival sources and oral history based on interviews. I am delighted to supervise any students using historical methodology.

Nanako Miyazaki

Graduate students are expected to perform academic presentations as well as do academic writing. One of the most important skills for such presentations and writing is to be able to express one’s thoughts precisely in an easy-to-understand form. In this course, students will develop such skills through repetition of activities and learn practical Japanese expression.

Yaoqian Mu

My specialization is regional economics, with a special focus on China. My research interest is how local cities survive and why there are growing and declining areas under rapid technological innovation and globalization. I would like to work with students who are interested in regional economic development, policy, industry, corporations, and international cooperation, etc. beyond country borders. I am interested in various regional economies, ranging from Niigata and other coastal areas of the Sea of Japan to the Russian Far East, the northeastern and western parts of China, and South America. Students who are interested in the Chinese economy in general are also welcomed.

Tomoyuki Nakatsuka

My specialization is international mediation in armed conflicts. The international society attempts to manage conflicts through various diplomatic tools such as armed intervention, peacekeeping, mediation, arbitration, and sanctions. To what extent and when are these means effective? I would like to think about these questions with students, which are closely linked to both the theory and practice of conflict resolution. I am happy to welcome students who are interested not only in international mediation but also in peace and war in general.

Ka Po Ng

I specialise in International Relations theory and international security, especially security issues in the Indo-Pacific region. My courses emphasise the integration of theory and practice. Students who are interested in applying IR theories to analyse security policies and international affairs are welcome to join me.