Center Director: Masatoshi Tamamura (Professor, Faculty of Policy Management)
Main Campus: Shonan Fujisawa
Center Overview
This research center aims to research and promote the Deliberative Poll (DP). In continuous partnership with Stanford University's Center for Deliberative Democracy (CDD), this center will operate as a hub for DP research in Japan.
Keywords and Main Research Themes
Public opinion polls, deliberation, democracy, Deliberative Poll
Fiscal Year 2017 Project Plan
■ Background, Rationale, and Goals for Continuing Activities from the Previous Fiscal Year
We will conduct theoretical and practical analysis on the use of DP in important policy choices. This includes disseminating the research results achieved in joint projects with local governments and others, such as MEXT's "Science for RE-designing Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (SciREX)" program, as well as several research and development projects currently in preparation and joint practical research with public institutions and local governments.
■ Goals, Content, and Background for New Activities
By examining the implementation of Deliberative Polls for important policy issues, we will research how citizens' policy choices can be made in a way that differs from conventional public opinion polls, and we will accumulate data and information. This will not only advance the Deliberative Poll itself but also allow us to develop theories for its use in the policy-making process and build highly effective practical models. We will continue and expand joint research and commissioned projects with local governments and other entities to accumulate relevant knowledge.
Fiscal Year 2017 Project Report
■ Implementation Details, Research Outcomes, and Degree of Achievement in Relation to the Fiscal Year Project Plan
Leveraging the DPs conducted by this center to date and the research results from programs like MEXT's "Science for RE-designing Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (SciREX)" program, we promoted research activities through joint research and commissioned projects with local governments, companies, and other organizations. We also conducted theoretical and practical analysis on the use of DP in important policy choices.
■ Number of Published Papers (with names of major journals), Number of Conference Presentations (domestic and international), and Achievements in Social Contribution such as Events (date, location)
Yasunori Sone, "Kankoku Kōron Chōsa / Shin Kori Genpatsu Mondai ni tsuite no Kansatsuki" (An Observation Record of the South Korean Public Opinion Survey on the Shin-Kori Nuclear Power Plant Issue), November 2017 (Report).
"Zadankai: Media wa Seiji ni dō Kakawaru ka" (Roundtable Discussion: How Does the Media Engage with Politics) (Sasaki, Sone, Taniguchi, and Serikawa), in Takeshi Sasaki and Yoichi Serikawa, "Seiji o Ugokasu Media" (The Media That Moves Politics) (University of Tokyo Press), May 2017.
Noboru Yanase, "Tōgi Minshu Shugi Riron ni Motozuku Kensatsu Shinsakai Seido no Igi no Saikōsei: Shiron" (An Essay on Reconstructing the Significance of the Prosecutorial Review Commission System Based on Deliberative Democracy Theory), in "Miyazawa Setsuo Sensei Koki Kinen Ronbunshū: Gendai Nihon no Hōkatei, Gekan" (Festschrift in Honor of Professor Setsuo Miyazawa's 70th Birthday: The Legal Process in Modern Japan, Vol. 2), ed. Keiichi Kamiishi, Hiroshi Otsuka, Katsuhiro Musashi, and Mari Hirayama (Shinzansha, June 2017), pp. 75–95.
Noboru Yanase, "Kokumin no Shihō Sanka no Seido ni okeru Kyōdō to Tōgi no Jūyōsei" (The Importance of Collaboration and Deliberation in Systems of Citizen Participation in the Judiciary), in "Kenpō no Korekara [Bessatsu Hōgaku Seminā 247-gō Shin Sōgō Tokushū Shirīzu]" (The Future of the Constitution [Hogaku Seminar, Special Issue No. 247, New Comprehensive Special Feature Series]), ed. Naoto Katagiri, Junta Okada, and Yo Matsuo (Nippon Hyoron Sha, July 2017), pp. 193–200.
■ Notable Achievements through Center Activities
Based on the knowledge it has accumulated, this research center has played an important role in policy formation by supporting the implementation of DPs by the national and local governments in Japan, as well as policy selection and evaluation analysis. Additionally, the center has researched the potential applications of DP as a method for visualizing and quantifying social expectations regarding science, technology, and innovation policy, and has provided support for creating guidelines and publishing books to promote its use.
Project Members
Principal Investigator
Masatoshi Tamamura
ProfessorFaculty of Policy ManagementShinichi Ueyama
ProfessorFaculty of Policy Management