Message from the Dean

Welcome to the website of the Keio University Faculty of Law. My name is Gentaro Kamei, and I’m Dean at the Keio University Faculty of Law.

The Faculty of Law at Keio University is a mosaic of countless microcosms, each composed of diverse individualities. As you can see here, we have gathered voices that speak to the appeal of the Faculty of Law not only from faculty members and students who learn together on campus, but also from alumni who are actively contributing to society. We invite you to explore the world that these voices reveal.

These messages are more than a simple encouragement from the Faculty of Law. They are unique, personalized messages that combine into a microcosm where each of us can shine. Our aim is to serve as a starting point from which all of you—both within and beyond the university—can connect with one another as members of the Faculty of Law community, and work together day by day to improve society and the world—that is, the greater universe—and to protect what is important both to you individually and to all of us collectively. Explore the microcosms gathered here, and you will catch a glimpse of how each of them seeks to connect to the larger universe through academic scholarship and the Keio spirit of jitsugaku, or practical learning.

The world today faces a mounting array of serious challenges: pandemics, environmental degradation, poverty, social division, energy and food insecurity, and regional conflicts. How can we avert these crises, which are at once global and local, and realize a world in which everyone can lead a fulfilling life and one that all can regard as fair? Cooperation on a global scale is essential to solving these issues, but perhaps a more integral approach would be to start locally and expand solutions outward.

The Keio University Faculty of Law is one hub that champions such activities. Just as the universe encompasses its microcosms, the global includes the local, and our society and the world are made up of individual actions. In the Faculty of Law, students have the opportunity to examine the connections between individuals and society and study the structure of these connections. In establishing Keio University, founder Yukichi Fukuzawa championed a philosophy that also applies to individuals who live and work in society: to be a source of honorable character and a paragon of intellect and morals for the entire nation.

I hope you will join us at the Faculty of Law to grow as an individual and learn the joy of connection, with people and with broader society.