午夜剧场

I was appointed as an assistant in the Faculty of Economics in April 1983 and will be retiring from 午夜剧场 at the end of March 2013. This marks a total of 30 years of full-time service.

During these years, the situation in Japan and around the world has changed dramatically, and I have also witnessed my own field of study transform so much that it is almost unrecognizable from its former self. Among these experiences, what stands out in particular is my deep involvement in university and school administration over these 30 years.

Aside from my work as a member of faculty steering committees, I lived in the United States for four years, from 1995 to 1999, as the Headmaster of 午夜剧场 Academy of New York, and later, I served as the Dean of the Graduate School of Human Relations for three terms, totaling six years, from 2005 to 2011. This adds up to 10 years, meaning I spent one-third of my tenure in some form of administrative role.

During my time as Headmaster of the New York academy, I recall that, as the second headmaster, the academy received its first accreditation from the New York State Association of Independent Schools. Furthermore, as a boarding school in the United States, I wanted to provide a unique education at the newly established academy, even within 午夜剧场. That feeling remains unchanged today.

My six years as Dean of the Graduate School of Human Relations coincided with the period of 午夜剧场's 150th anniversary commemorative projects, and various committee activities were particularly active, giving me the opportunity to speak informally with representatives from faculties and graduate schools on different campuses. Also during this period, to serve as the recipient for two projects initiated by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)—the COE and GCOE (Global COE) programs—we developed the graduate school's own regulations for personnel appointments, and I hope this will serve as a catalyst for the graduate school to expand its authority over personnel and budgets, thereby increasing its independence.

Based on these valuable experiences, I am currently engrossed in research on a new theme. While dynamic analyses of the international division of labor system, which has expanded and become more complex with the advance of globalization, have been accumulating in the field of economic geography, the importance of division of labor and affiliation based on equal contracts with rapidly growing local companies is now being recognized, alongside the deepening of the division of labor structure through the establishment of local subsidiaries via direct investment or through acquisitions and mergers of local companies. This is quite persuasive from a risk management perspective associated with direct investment, and it is also attractive in terms of cost for venture companies and others expanding overseas. However, cross-border contracts and the expansion of supply chains based on such contracts come with their own risks. I am currently conducting research on what kind of governance is needed to address these transnational and diverse risks, and on the nature of governance in spaces (foreign countries or cyberspace) where a country's domestic laws do not apply.

And this research, in turn, has become a sharp question directed at myself. Although universities are inherently transnational organizations sustained by cross-border academic activities, why can it be said that they are extremely immature in terms of transnational governance?

While the study of transnational governance can be said to be still in its developing stages, one thing is certain: "Research has no borders, and research has no retirement age."

(Interview conducted in November 2012)