Major in Political Science

The Major in Political Science consists of five specialized fields: "Political Thought," "Politics and Society," "Japanese Politics," "Area Studies and Comparative Politics," and "International Politics." "Political Thought" covers the history of medieval, modern, contemporary, Eastern, and comparative political thought, as well as political philosophy. "Politics and Society" includes contemporary political theory, public administration, social stratification, social change, mass communication, and contemporary social theory. "Japanese Politics" focuses on modern and postwar Japanese political history, the history of Japanese political thought, Japanese administrative history, and contemporary Japanese politics. "Area Studies and Comparative Politics" covers Africa, the Middle East, China, Russia, Latin America, the United States, Southeast Asia, the Korean Peninsula, and comparative area studies. "International Politics" focuses on contemporary international politics, security, International Political Economy, Western diplomatic history, Japanese diplomatic history, and East Asian international relations.

Additionally, the Master's Program in the Major in Political Science offers the "Public Policy Specialization Course" and the "Journalism Specialization Course" (please refer to the "Specialization Courses" page for details).

The instructional policy and educational goals of the Major in Political Science are to deepen knowledge of political theory, thought, and history, to foster a global and comparative perspective, and to help students acquire the thinking skills to place contemporary issues in a historical context and a policy-oriented mindset for identifying and solving problems.

Because the five specialized fields of the Major in Political Science are interrelated, students can deepen their research across multiple areas. By expanding while deepening their own expertise, we aim to cultivate policy-oriented researchers and practitioners who value thought and history and address current structural and urgent issues from global and comparative perspectives.

Furthermore, the "Public Policy Specialization Course" aims to train highly specialized civil servants and policy experts, while the "Journalism Specialization Course" aims to train journalists who are strong in politics and well-versed in social issues.