Thinking about Policy. The Power of Imagination. | Tomoki Kamo, Vice Dean and Professor, Faculty of Policy Management
2020.03.03
Japanese society is now confronting a new infectious disease, the novel coronavirus. This is also a result of the advance of globalization, which has given the virus an opportunity to spread uncontrollably, and all organizations and individuals are required to make decisive yet cautious policy decisions in the face of this threat.
However, the threat society faces today was not born from the spread of a new virus; it can be said to be a threat of our own making. As countless history books have repeatedly depicted, when people are threatened by an invisible enemy, they feel as if they are surrounded by enemies on all sides. This sense of crisis drives people into a panic, causes policymakers to make poor judgments, and leads to social turmoil.
Looking back now at our daily lives, it seems that our society is formed by the accumulation of thin layers of "decisions." What is necessary to protect society is rational and logical thought and decision-making. I would like to take this opportunity to consider what policy is and what policy-making is.
All policymakers do their best. However, because circumstances change from moment to moment, they are often forced to make decisions without having sufficient information. Declassified government documents, memoirs of political leaders, investigative journalism, and policy studies by researchers all depict the harsh reality in which national policymakers find themselves.
It is better to assume that national policy is never decided with complete information. In the case of dictatorships, the infallibility of policymakers blessed with foresight is touted, but of course, that is nothing more than a fantasy.
Policymakers who know this reality are fond of saying, "One must be humble." However, we should not take this at face value. Even if it is humble, the government can make wrong decisions. To protect ourselves, we need to engage with the government with a sense of vigilance. That is why we go to the polls and study policy.
What is policy? It is a guideline, a plan, and a concrete measure for building a better society. The metaphor that thinking about policy is thinking about the future is apt.
So, what does it mean to think about policy? If policy is a guideline, plan, and method for connecting ideals and reality, then it can be said to be about thinking how to implement the policies created to bring reality closer to those ideals. Policies are created based on ethics and norms, an understanding of the situation on the ground, and scientific evidence. This is the starting point for everything, but the important challenge lies in what comes next: implementing the policy.
So, what does it mean to implement a policy? A policymaker cannot implement a policy alone. If it is a government policy, they must explain its significance to many government departments and implement it while gaining their approval to bring reality closer to the ideal. At the same time, if they do not explain its significance to society and gain its support, it will remain a pipe dream. It is words that convey the significance of a policy and persuade others. This is why language education holds an important position in the SFC educational system.
Throughout our respective lives, we get opportunities to think about policy in situations where we can exert our abilities to the fullest. What students at SFC, not just those enrolled in the Faculty of Policy Management, learn through their education and research is the ability to think about policy in order to design a better future. It is the power to imagine how to create policy, how to implement policy, and how to communicate policy. They forge their own paths in life with this "power of imagination" as their weapon.
The new infectious disease, the novel coronavirus, has deprived the graduating class of 2019 of their undergraduate and graduate school commencements. It is deeply regrettable that this opportunity to mark a new beginning has been lost. However, Keio University holds a Reunion for Keio Alumni celebrating their 25th anniversary in conjunction with the undergraduate and graduate school commencements. At that time, I hope you will reminisce about this day 25 years ago.
However, as someone celebrating my own 25th graduation anniversary this year, I have lost the opportunity to reminisce with my classmates about that day 25 years ago due to this novel coronavirus. Therefore, you should not believe that the Reunion for Keio Alumni will definitely be held in 25 years. Even with the steady progress of medical sciences, the future deepening of globalization may provide an opportunity for a new infectious virus to spread in a different form than we see now. To overcome this challenge, we must continue to strive to hone our ability to think about policy—that is, the power to imagine how to create, implement, and communicate policy.