About the School

The Okuma School of Public Management is a professional school that gives its graduates public administration skills that allow them to become contributing members of society. Equipped with an in-depth understanding of the public realm, these future leaders will become creative managers and capable administrators. They will be instilled with both an international awareness and a strong sense of social responsibility.

Mission Statement
■ Policy decisions that strike a balance between equity and efficiency.
Both equity and efficiency are needed for effective public policy. Students learn to weigh both carefully, decide which receives precedence, and frame effective policy. They develop the essential public management capabilities that are so desired in society today.

■ Policy-making and policy evaluation that are grounded in reality.
Policy-making capacity refers, first, to the realization of specific policy. Students receive a strong grounding in statistical methods, case surveys, planning, policy evaluation, simulation, and other basic methodologies. In their master's thesis, candidates formulate a specific policy to meet real-world conditions which they themselves evaluate.

■ Using education and research methodology to teach international awareness and a global perspective.
Globalization is becoming ever more prevalent throughout the world. All organizations – not just international institutions, NPOs, and NGOs – must see their actions through a global perspective. By offering programs in cooperation with foreign graduate schools and other institutions, the students of the Okuma School are given an awareness of living and working in the larger sphere.

■ Education that can be used in the real world of domestic and international administrative bodies, NPOs, NGOs, corporations, and journalism.
In this day and age, it is important that every organization and occupation be mindful of the public interest. After graduating with a master's degree, students of the Okuma School will be prepared to work in central and local administrative bodies, international institutions, NPOs, and NGOs. They will also have the skills to enter broader fields, including the private-sector, policy evaluation institutions, journalism, mass media, and politics.

Special Features

■ Four Research Concepts
The Okuma School believes that effective public-management policy must be based on a balance between equity and efficiency. To achieve this balance, attention must be paid to four research focuses (research areas): public administration, public policy, public economy, and information journalism. “Public Administration” entails services supporting national and local government personnel and to provide in-service training for civil servants. “Public Policy” focuses on policy formulation and evaluation by politicians, policy advisors, NPOs, NGOs, and international institutions. “Public Economy”focuses on the cultivation of management and consulting skills in corporations, as well as in think tanks, consulting companies, and other institutions. “Information Journalism” intersects all three of these categories.

In order to successfully pursue any of these fields, one must first be able to see and understand the current era we are in based upon a firm historical perspective and value system.

Each research focus above functions as a conceptual research guide, as opposed to being defined as a major or course.

■ Internships and Practical Training
Students also receive a grounding in the realities of policy-making as they participate in such activities as fieldwork and internships. Students work with the media, central and local government offices, and members of the Japanese Parliament.

■ Master Theses Grounded in Reality
Theory and ideas are one thing, practical implementation is another. Students at the Okuma School of Public Management are required to write a master’s thesis that deals with the realities of policy formulation and evaluation. At present, public management is generally confined to three sectors: administrative bodies, private corporations, and NPOs/NGOs. Journalism and the media form a fourth sector that evaluates the policies of the first three sectors and acts as an interface. Graduates of the Okuma School understand the realities of policy formulation and evaluation from the standpoint of all of these sectors.

Our curricula provides students with firm foundations in political science, law, and economics, as well as equip them with necessary tools such as statistical methods. Having completed the base educational requirements, students then take courses and seminars that further their individual research themes, academic interests, and intellectual viewpoints. The master's thesis is the completion of this process. Students build on their acquired knowledge and ideas, and submit a thesis with real-life proposals and policy evaluation.

Degrees

Master of Public Management (MPM)
Ph.D. in Public Management

Course Offerings ※Conducted in Japanese Only

Public Management Public Administration	New Public Management, Public Market, Human Power, Public Investment and Private Financial Initiative, Administrative Management, Administrative Law Thrones, Infrastructure Policy, Official Development Assistance, Electoral System, Regional Sovereignty, Regional Policy, Theory of Self-Governing, International Law, e-Government and CIO Case Studies in Application, NPO/NGO Studies
Public Policy	Think Tank Theory, Technological Innovation and Social Dynamics, Economic Restructuring, Public Planning, Policy for Management, Agricultural Policy, Planning for Urban Renaissance, Public Involvement, Regional Development System, International Interests, Public Information Security, International Public Policy, Policy of Process, Ubiquitous Societal Management
Public Economy	Environmental Management, Competition Law, Financial Risk Management Research, Financial Economics, Public Sector Accounting, Public Economics, International Human Resources Management, Public Finance, Fiscal and Monetary Affairs and the National Economy, Local Public Finance, Economy and Society in the Nordic Countries, Budgeting System, Work Life Balance and Diversity Management, Economic Model, International Market System, Asian Economy
Media / Journalism	Constitution and Journalism, Documentary on International Politics, Election and Mass Media, Japanese Economics, Practical Politics from TV News, Public Leadership, Public Opinion and Media, Social Welfare and Media, Television and Politics, Theory of Leadership in Historical Context, Two-Party-Era and Mass Media
Field Work/Internship	Municipality Management and Regional Independence, Okuma Region Founder's Course, Iwate Course (Reconstruction Region and Governance), Internship (Journalism), Internship (Self-Government), Internship (Diet/Waseda Tohmonkai), Internship (Research Institute of Manifesto), Internship (Regional Economic Promotion and Regional Branding)
Case Study Program	Theory of Leadership, Case Study (Economy and Society in the Nordic Countries), Case Study (Public Management), Case Study (Social Welfare) A/B, Case Study (Public Economy), Case Study (Management Control of Nonprofit Organization), Case Study (Policy Evaluation), Case Study (Politics and Mass Media), Case Study (Strategic Management Accounting of Nonprofit Organization), Civil Servant Course (Public Policy Practice), Civil Servant Course (Administration and Economy), Expression of Sentences, Public Management and the World (USA), Public Management and the World (Asia), Management Quality, Negotiation, Policy Process Workshop, Customer Marketing, Understanding for Legislation Process, Introduction to the Science of Quality, Human Development and Innovation, Political History of Post-war Japan