Learn from the Past, Know the Present, and Aspire for the Future

After attending law school, I entered the world of academia by enrolling in the doctoral program of this graduate school. Unlike legal professionals, I cannot directly help the person in front of me, but I am pursuing what I can do to create a better environment for people living in the present and the future. From the perspective of constitutional law, a 'better environment' is, for one, a state where democracy is firmly practiced. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the way experts were involved in policymaking became an issue. Recently, we have also seen situations where important matters are being decided one after another by the cabinet, leaving citizens behind. To address these challenges, I am researching desirable governance structures and the process of institutional formation, mainly through a comparative study of Japan and France.

On the other hand, my research is only a small part of the entire legal system. All researchers are tackling the challenges we face with diverse approaches from their respective viewpoints. I feel great joy and fascination in how the entire legal system is improved as each individual conducts cutting-edge research, respects one another, and sometimes connects across time and disciplinary boundaries. Particularly at the Keio University Graduate School, from my time as a graduate student, I have had opportunities to view my own research objectively through interactions with world-class professors, senior colleagues, and peers who will likely lead their respective fields. It can be said that support to significantly advance everyone's research activities is well-established in terms of both tangible and intangible aspects.