Research Center for Negotiation (SU)

Director: Jiro Tamura (Professor, Faculty of Law)

Main Campus: Mita

This research center aims to establish methodologies for the effective resolution of global conflicts, such as serious social and economic conflicts and friction. In other words, it conducts multifaceted research from interdisciplinary perspectives—including law and political science, psychology, communication studies, and brain science—to determine appropriate approaches for resolving serious conflicts and disputes between nations, or global conflicts faced by corporations and individuals. This involves constructive dialogue and communication, and the formation of highly sustainable agreements that appropriately adjust the interests of the parties involved. This research center collaborates with the Program on Negotiation at Harvard University to conduct joint research. It also recruits researchers from diverse backgrounds and promotes personnel exchanges with corporations to establish a central hub for negotiation studies. The center also encourages the participation of corporations and organizations that support the purpose of this research. In terms of research activities, the center aims to contribute to society through its research outcomes from two aspects: a research division and an education and human resource development division.

The research division conducts research on global governance, including international politics and economics, from various perspectives, including international comparisons, with a focus on conflict resolution and negotiation. For example, in addition to the research findings of the Program on Negotiation at Harvard University, the research incorporates ideas and concepts for East-West cultural exchange found in the philosophy of Yukichi Fukuzawa at Keio University. It also advances research by incorporating new perspectives from various fields, such as the historical study of negotiation in Japan, which includes not only diplomatic research but also studies of private-sector business, such as the negotiation techniques of the Omi merchants.

The education and human resource development division is developing educational programs to apply its findings to the cultivation of the next generation of talent. Currently, Harvard University and Keio University are holding speaker series and other events to introduce the insights of experienced international negotiators. They also plan to establish and implement educational methods based on systematized negotiation studies.

Negotiation Studies, Conflict Resolution Theory, Communication Theory, Psychology, Cognitive Science, Behavioral Economics, Brain Science, Human Resource Development, Decision-Making Theory, Foreign Policy, Trade Policy, Policy Formation

In fiscal year 2010, based on the research results of fiscal year 2009, we will further strengthen our collaboration with the Program on Negotiation at Harvard University to advance our research. Specifically, we will proceed with a full-scale joint research project with Associate Professor Daniel Shapiro of the Program on Negotiation at Harvard University, aiming to publish the research results within this fiscal year. Furthermore, as Mariko Gakiya, a senior academic advisor at the same institute, will be in residence at Keio for a certain period, it will be possible to conduct joint research with various researchers from Harvard University. In particular, we will work closely with researchers at Harvard University to report on our research findings, aiming to integrate the study of psychology and negotiation, and to explore the potential of negotiation studies as part of legal education and research.

In addition, through the Global Conflict Program at the World Economic Forum, the principal investigator will participate in regularly held research meetings to conduct interviews and promote the international dissemination of research results. In theoretical research, we will conduct studies on the interdependence of international economic relations and its negotiation-related aspects based on game theory. In parallel with these research outcomes, and as an educational contribution of this research, we will continue to provide these findings primarily through the Fukuzawa Bunmei Juku at Keio University. We will also continue to hold seminars and other events to widely disseminate the educational aspects of our research results to the public. Next, in fiscal year 2010, to compile our research results, we will submit articles to academic journals and host the Japan Association of Persuasion and Negotiation at Keio University in August 2010, where we will present reports and hold a symposium on negotiation studies. At the end of the fiscal year, we also plan to report our research results in the form of a symposium, lecture, or workshop.

In fiscal year 2009, the Center Director, in collaboration with the Program on Negotiation at Harvard University, participated in the World Economic Forum's Global Conflict Program. Through active exchanges of opinions with a wide range of overseas researchers and practitioners at the forefront of international negotiations, such as diplomats and politicians, the Director conducted research on methodologies for the effective resolution of global conflicts, including serious social and economic conflicts and friction. As a result of this research, in March 2010, the Center Director, along with Mariko Gakiya, a researcher at Harvard University, and Gerald McAlinn, a professor at our university's Law School, participated in the Global COE Symposium and reported on the current status of research at this center. A prime example of the educational achievements of this research at Keio University is the seminar conducted as part of professional training in the Fukuzawa Bunmei Juku project.

In addition, Koji Sumita, a visiting researcher at this research center, held a seminar on negotiation studies based on the latest research findings at the Nippon Keidanren Green Forum in November 2009. He also conducted a seminar at the National College of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport, working to disseminate the educational methods of this research center.

As another achievement, to promote the popularization of negotiation studies, a book that explains the subject in an easy-to-understand manner, "Bijuaru Kaisetsu Kosho-gaku Nyumon," co-authored by Koji Sumita and the Center Director, will be published by Nikkei Inc. in March 2010. Furthermore, as a theoretical research report on the results of fiscal year 2009, an article co-authored by Koji Sumita and the Center Director is scheduled to be published in the journal "Chizai Kanri" in May 2010. As described above, we believe that the center has achieved its intended objectives for its research in fiscal year 2009.