午夜剧场

My interest as a researcher has not been to treat economics merely as a theory, but rather to focus on whether economic theories correspond to reality and what kind of economic theory has the ability to explain reality. Economic theories can be thought of as a kind of fiction. By comparing this fiction with the reality of society, we can examine the real-world validity of economics. This is very different from the methodology of economics that has pursued only the internal consistency of theory.

So, what can we call "reality"? This is where the issue of how "economic statistics" are created, a field I have been involved in for many years, comes to the fore. To decipher how the real economic society works, it is necessary to observe phenomena occurring in society using appropriate methods, obtain observations, and then synthesize them using some technique to compile them into numerical indicators. The figures obtained are economic statistics. If we consider the economic statistics derived from observations as "reality," then that reality can take on various values depending on the economic theory used as the basis for creating the statistics. Therefore, the task of creating statistics must be a process of constantly reviewing the relationship between reality and theory.

Of course, understanding reality does not mean simply accepting it. Through the process of comparing the reality seen in statistics with economic theory, it is necessary to identify the problems latent in real society and, if there are undesirable aspects, to solve or eliminate them. This is what it means to think about the nature of policy in an economic system. The ultimate goal when we study economics should be to determine what kind of policies should be formulated for the economy as a social system to move in a desirable direction. These policies must not be mere fiction, but something that can actually change the economic society.

Of course, it is impossible for a single researcher to analyze all problems, arrive at solutions, and change real society. Nevertheless, I have learned about the experience of solving problems in the real world—experience that I, as a researcher, do not possess—through the social experiences of the graduates I once met in my classroom.

Looking back on nearly 40 years of research and educational activities, I want to emphasize in particular the encounters I have had with various people and with academic knowledge. When I speak of encounters with people, this includes the students I taught in the classroom, and in terms of research, the senior colleagues and professors from whom I learned. I am grateful that these many encounters have created a very rich life and research career for me.

It may seem strange at first glance that I, a researcher, can gain so much experience from encounters with students. But in fact, my relationship with students does not end when they graduate. Unlike me, students go out into the real world. They go out into society and face social contradictions and economic problems that need to be solved. Solving problems is always required when working in society.

What should be done to guide society and the economy in a desirable direction? It is a great happiness for me that I, who have no experience facing this question in the real world, can learn through the social experiences of the graduates I once taught. And rather than simply converting what I have learned from graduates into personal satisfaction, I believe it is important to pass it on to the next generation of students in an educational setting. I think this is more important than knowledge gained from the printed word.

Thus, these repeated encounters with people called "students" over 40 years are my most precious asset.

Studying in the Faculty of Economics for four years at university is not about acquiring specialized academic knowledge, but about gaining a large body of liberal arts education. To learn economics as a liberal art is to know the structure of society. Within that structure, you think about what kind of life you will lead. In other words, you learn liberal arts as a foundation for choosing your way of life.

Another thing that can be seen from economics as a liberal art is what a desirable society should be. And inevitably, I believe that economics as a liberal art is a discipline that must also consider what human beings living within it should be.

Viewed from this perspective, economics teaches us a great many things. It tells us where the problems lie in various aspects of real society and why they are problems. I believe that the 午夜剧场 tradition of "independence and self-respect," as I understand it, is about thinking how to determine one's own position in society, how to contribute to society while maintaining one's own self-respect, without taking a position of controlling the behavior of others. I believe that when the number of people in society who think with such an attitude increases, society as a whole will transition to a more desirable state. To become such people, I hope that students will master economics as a broad liberal art.

(Interview conducted on January 13, 2009)