Message from the Dean

Kazuo KURODA
Dean and Professor, Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies, Waseda University

Shigenobu Okuma, the founder of Waseda University, proclaimed the University’s Mission Statement at the ceremony commemorating the 30th anniversary of its founding in 1912. The Mission Statement declares Waseda’s commitment “to contribute to the scholarship of the world” and “to cultivate people of character who can be active in the world at large.” In the same address, Okuma also urged students, “Do not think of yourself alone, your family alone, nor your nation alone, but have an ambition to contribute to the world,” and stated that “bringing about world peace is our ultimate and greatest ideal.”

These words were spoken at a time when the formation of Japan as a modern nation-state remained a central national concern. Against such a historical backdrop, Waseda’s explicit commitment to contributing to the world through both research and education represented a remarkably forward-looking vision. In his book The Harmonization of Eastern and Western Civilizations (1922), Okuma further wrote: “Japan now stands at the point of contact between Eastern and Western civilizations. Our great ideal is to serve as a harmonizer of civilizations, bringing Eastern civilization and the advanced civilization of the West into parallel and into harmony.” In these words, he expressed his aspiration to build a harmonious and peaceful society through mutual understanding and dialogue among civilizations. It was a grand vision: to make Japan a bridge between East and West, with Waseda University serving as one of its intellectual centers.

Since its founding, Waseda University has developed under these ideals as an institution open not only to Japan but also to the wider world, pursuing research and education that contribute to global society. Its relationship with Asia, in particular, has a long history. Just two years after its establishment in 1882, Waseda welcomed an international student from the Korean Peninsula, and in 1905 it established the School for Chinese Students from the Qing Dynasty. From its earliest years, Waseda has welcomed students from across Asia and beyond and has educated generations of people who have gone on to make meaningful contributions to societies around the world.

The Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies (GSAPS) was established in 1998 to carry forward and further develop Waseda University’s ideals and historical role in the contemporary era. Its fundamental mission is to conduct interdisciplinary research on the history, politics, economy, industry, management, society, culture, and international affairs of the Asia-Pacific region from both global and regional perspectives; to educate highly skilled professionals with advanced expertise who are able to return the fruits of their research to society; and, through these endeavors, to contribute broadly to the advancement of humankind.

Over nearly three decades since its establishment, GSAPS has welcomed students from more than 50 countries and regions and has awarded more than 4,000 master’s degrees and approximately 450 doctoral degrees. Our graduates are active around the world in a wide range of fields, including government, business and industry, civil society, universities and research institutions, and international organizations.

GSAPS has also developed extensive partnerships with universities and graduate schools overseas and has actively promoted international collaboration in education and research. We have established departmental agreements with many leading graduate schools in the field of international affairs, including the Elliott School of International Affairs at the George Washington University in the United States, the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland, the Hertie School in Germany, the Graduate School of International Studies at Seoul National University in Korea, and the Faculty of Political Science at Chulalongkorn University in Thailand. Through these partnerships, we maintain active student and academic exchanges.

GSAPS also operates double-degree programs with the School of International Studies at Peking University in China and the Institute for European Studies at the Université libre de Bruxelles in Belgium. Under the East Asian University Institute (EAUI) initiative, we have worked with Peking University, Korea University, Nanyang Technological University, and Thammasat University to organize joint summer schools and symposia on an annual basis. In addition, GSAPS has participated in research collaboration through the East Asia Community Forum with Tsinghua University and Korea University, as well as in the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Development Studies Program and JICA’s project supporting the establishment and development of the Master of Global Leadership program at Vietnam Japan University.

Over the past half century, the Asia-Pacific region has undergone remarkable development and has emerged as one of the major driving forces of the global economy. It is increasingly expected to assume a greater role and make greater contributions to the international community. At the same time, both the Asia-Pacific region and the world as a whole face numerous transnational and global challenges that no single nation can resolve alone—among them war and conflict, poverty, climate change, infectious diseases, educational disparities, and issues related to migration and refugees. The need for cooperation across national borders in addressing these challenges has never been greater.

To respond to such challenges, the international community has developed frameworks for global cooperation, most notably the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and has worked toward their realization. At the same time, rapid advances in information and communication technology (ICT), artificial intelligence (AI), and other fields are opening up new possibilities for global peace and development, while also giving rise to new challenges and risks for our societies.

Against this backdrop, GSAPS engages with both the diversity and potential of the Asia-Pacific region and the complex challenges confronting the world. By transcending the boundaries of conventional academic disciplines, we pursue comprehensive and interdisciplinary education and research. Our goal is to nurture people who can develop a deep understanding of the increasingly complex issues facing the international community and contribute both to addressing those challenges and to creating new values.

What, then, is the kind of globally engaged person that GSAPS seeks to nurture?

I believe that three Cs are essential for those who aspire to play an active role in the international community: Competence, Collaboration, and Contribution.

The first C is Competence: internationally relevant knowledge and expertise grounded in advanced academic and professional knowledge, language proficiency, and communication skills. In today’s increasingly globalized world, expertise and capabilities are evaluated against standards that transcend national boundaries. To exercise one’s abilities effectively in diverse settings around the world, it is essential not only to possess solid expertise, but also to be able to communicate and share that expertise with others.

The second C is Collaboration: the ability to work with people from around the world to address shared challenges, together with a collaborative form of leadership. In an international community where people from different cultural and social backgrounds live and work together, we need the openness and inclusiveness to understand others, while also communicating our own ideas with patience and persistence. We must be able to build mutual understanding across differences and work together toward common goals.

The third—and most important—C is Contribution: the aspiration to contribute to society. It means combining professional competence recognized internationally with the human capacity to work constructively with people from diverse backgrounds, and using these strengths to make a tangible contribution to addressing the challenges facing our world and to building a more peaceful and prosperous society. In this sense, Contribution is the contemporary expression of the ideal of “contributing to the world” that Okuma articulated more than a century ago.

Studying at GSAPS is an important first step in cultivating these three Cs.

At GSAPS, international and Japanese students alike have the opportunity to study and conduct research together in an exceptionally international and diverse educational environment. The very experience of students from different countries, regions, cultures, and academic disciplines learning from one another, exchanging ideas, engaging in dialogue, and collaborating is itself an invaluable opportunity to develop the capacities required in international society.

It is my sincere hope that students who come to GSAPS from around the world will, through their studies and the relationships they build here, grow into people who can contribute to addressing the challenges facing the Asia-Pacific region and the world, while also helping to create new values for the future. As Dean, I will do my utmost to ensure that GSAPS continues to be a place open to the world—where people of diverse backgrounds learn together, create new knowledge, and contribute to the realization of a more peaceful and prosperous society.