Student Interview 2026 #004 Department of Political Science, Faculty of Law

I have had a great interest in law since I was in elementary school, and I have always wanted to pursue a career where I could utilize that knowledge or work in a related field. Later, in high school, I encountered fields such as "Geopolitics" and "International Politics (History)," and became strongly attracted to political science.

While reading many books, I found that several of the ones I found particularly interesting involved professors from Keio University. I was amazed by their research based on abundant materials and data, and how they carefully simplified broad elements one by one. The fact that I could attend lectures by such professors and exchange opinions with them if I enrolled was a major attraction.

Since enrolling, I have studied not only political science but also programming and statistics. This is because I wanted to conduct research on politics and society based on data. In fact, in the seminar (kenkyukai) I belong to, each student performs quantitative analysis on political phenomena or social issues they are interested in, and presents those academic and creative findings as a thesis. During the analysis, the professor provides guidance from a student's perspective starting from the basics, and students teach each other regardless of their school year. We also have deep connections with alumni, allowing us to expand our network even after graduation.

It is also possible to continuously take multiple foreign language courses from the first to the fourth year. I have studied rare languages such as Arabic and Indonesian, and I am now able to follow local news media.

I feel that being able to take courses of interest and become a generalist with expertise in other fields is unique to the Department of Political Science. I personally take courses from other faculties and Research Centers and Institutes, such as "Archaeology/Folklore," "Foreign Languages," and "Information Engineering," regardless of whether they are in the humanities or sciences, gaining broad learning opportunities. Since I can also build friendships with students from other faculties, it leads to gaining new perspectives and interdisciplinary research. In the future, I want to deepen my learning in AI technologies such as machine learning, which are closely related to the industry I am aiming for.

Additionally, the Media Center (library), which boasts an extensive collection of books, is also an attraction. There is an ideal environment for exploring intellectual imagination, where you can immediately borrow books you are interested in, from the masterpieces mentioned by professors in lectures to novels that come up in conversations with friends.

On the other hand, I belong to a literary club. Each member brings their own works to produce a club magazine, which we sell at school festivals and workshops. Sometimes we are invited by companies to participate in events, allowing us to have broad connections with society.

Keio University is a place that responds to a variety of research interests and desires to learn. I sincerely hope that all of you will realize your dreams.

This article was published in the university guide for prospective students, "Guidebook 2026."

The latest guidebook is available as a PDF or digital pamphlet. Please check the "Guidebook" webpage.