AGU RESEARCH

International Community

※ Video markItems marked with include video content.

  • School of Global Studies and Collaboration, Department of Global Studies and Collaboration
  • Published on 2026/04/30
  • As a member of the local community, we listen to people's voices and explore the possibilities of international cooperation.
  • Professor Masanobu Horie
  • International relations is a field of study that analyzes the relationships between states and the structure and challenges of the international community. Professor Masanobu Horie, while specializing in this field, incorporates fieldwork from a cultural anthropological perspective into his research methodology. He was drawn to the field of international cooperation while working for a major general contractor, and transitioned to becoming a UN staff member. Currently based primarily in West Timor, an Indonesian territory, he continues to explore how to deliver the "light" of international cooperation while listening to the voices of the people living there. He argues that ultimately, the most important thing is the attitude of people understanding each other, regardless of ethnicity, religion, or lifestyle. The human relationships he has sincerely built through his research have become an invaluable asset for Professor Horie.

  • School of International Politics, Economics and Communication, Department of International Politics
  • Published on 2025/05/16
  • Analyzing horizontal cooperation among allied nations
    Research that contributes to stability in the Indo-Pacific region
  • Associate Professor Tomohiko Satake
  • In recent years, security cooperation among allies such as Japan, Australia, and South Korea has been strengthened in the Asia-Pacific region, in addition to the bilateral alliance network centered on the United States. Associate Professor Tomohiko Satake studies the structural reasons behind this strengthening of cooperation among allies and its impact on the regional security environment. Amidst increasing instability in the international situation due to events such as the rise of the second Trump administration in the United States, what foreign policy should Japan adopt going forward? This book explores the answer to that question through research on diplomacy in the Asia-Pacific and Indo-Pacific regions. (To be published in 2025)

  • School of International Politics, Economics and Communication, Department of International Politics
  • Published on 2025/05/16
  • Unraveling the causal relationships of conflicts and wars, and deriving logic that can be applied to similar cases.
  • Professor Yasuhiro Izumikawa
  • International relations theory is the study that seeks to understand the causes of repeated conflicts and wars in humankind, and the reasons why various actors cooperate across national borders. Professor Yasuhiro Izumikawa has focused on alliance politics and adversarial relationships between nations since his time studying in the United States, and has continued his research from various perspectives to this day. Amidst the rapidly changing situations in Europe, the United States, and East Asia, his research is attracting considerable attention from overseas.
    (To be released in 2025)

  • Faculty of Law, Department of Human Rights
  • Posted on 2024/05/17
  • Focusing on the perspective of legal research, tackling the issue of LGBTQ human rights
  • Professor Hiroyuki Taniguchi
  • Professor Hiroyuki Taniguchi is conducting original research from the perspective of international and comparative law, focusing on the role that law should play in LGBTQ human rights issues. Legislation and legal reform are not approaches that can be implemented quickly, but their social impact is limitless. In Japan, the SOGI Awareness Promotion Act came into effect in 2023, attracting attention. Law has the power to change social norms and people's perceptions, not just general legal binding power.

  • College of Community Studies, Department of Community Studies
  • Posted on 2024/05/16
  • Considering work-life balance in the era of 100-year life spans
  • Professor Seiko Ogawa
  • Work-life balance means striving for harmony between work and life outside of work, without sacrificing either. It is a concept that cannot be avoided when solving social issues such as the declining birthrate. Professor Ogawa Seiko decided to become a researcher after becoming interested in corporate training during her time as a flight attendant. Rather than pursuing an ideal, she always keeps in mind "research that does not diverge from the real world" and takes the theme of work-life balance seriously.

  • School of Global Studies and Collaboration, Department of Global Studies and Collaboration
  • Posted on 2024/05/10
  • Pursuing reconciliation based on individual trust for sustainable peace
  • Professor Naoko Kumagai
  • Even after a ceasefire is once agreed upon around the world, there are many cases in which conflicts and clashes break out again. Professor Naoko Kumagai is researching the necessary conditions for such conflicts in the international community to reach "reconciliation," exploring the meaning of apology, forgiveness, memory, compensation, justice, and more. Referring to past cases in East Asia and Europe, she has been searching for a way to restore trust between victims and perpetrators. In order to overcome negative emotions and build sustainable peace, it is necessary to face history squarely and listen to the inner voice of each party involved.

  • Faculty of Law, Department of Human Rights
  • Posted on 2024/05/01
  • International human rights law protects all people on the planet.
    What are the challenges facing Japan in promoting human rights?
  • Professor Hae Bong Shin
  • "Human rights" are fundamental values shared by the international community, and are a theme of great social significance that is also aligned with the SDGs' philosophy of "leaving no one behind." It is also a practical academic field that is directly linked to our daily lives, in that it cultivates an attitude of respecting the rights of others while protecting one's own rights. Professor Hae Bong Shin is exploring and examining measures to promote the protection of human rights in Japan from a legal perspective, making full use of comparative law with other countries.

  • Faculty of Social Informatics, Department of Social Informatics
  • Unraveling the mechanisms of people's financial behavior and stabilizing financial markets
  • Professor Hirotaka Fushiya
  • In financial markets, mimicking and following the buying and selling of others can sometimes become widespread. This can cause stock prices to fluctuate wildly beyond the appropriate range, destabilizing the market. Professor Fushiya Hirotaka considers financial market movements as being divided into long-term trends and short-term uncertainties, and continues his research to keep the uncertainty caused by following-up behavior within an appropriate range, thereby contributing to the stabilization of financial markets. Stochastic differential equations are used for this purpose, and are expected to be applied not only to finance but also to predicting trends in various social and natural phenomena.
    (Released in 2023)

  • School of International Politics, Economics and Communication, Department of International Economics
    ​
  • What impact do differences in living environments have on children's development?
    Contributing to the realization of a sustainable society through both education and research
  • Associate Professor Seung-Gyu Sim
  • Associate Professor Seung-Gyu Sim has been researching the impact of differences in living environments on development through surveys and analysis of children who live in environments other than the home they were born into. He says that empathy for others, a positive way of thinking, and the ability to see things from a broad perspective are all essential elements for realizing a sustainable society, and are fostered through good relationships with those around us and education. He himself aims to make further contributions to society through his daily guidance of students and specialized research into child development.
    (Released in 2023)

  • College of Community Studies,
    Department of Community Studies
  • From "sensitivity" and "intuition"
    We aim to unravel the state of education and society and resolve issues.
  • Professor Hiroshi Nishijima
  • Sociology of education considers education in society. By considering the relationship between education and society through themes such as music education, the approach spreads beyond time and region, and how we should approach academic studies. The attitude also emerges.
    (Released in 2023)

  • School of Global Studies and Collaboration, Department of Global Studies and Collaboration
  • Mexico's economy falls into the "middle-income trap."
    We will consider the regional disparities and poverty issues.
  • Associate Professor Kaoko Sakikawa
  • Associate Professor Kaoko Sakikawa encountered Spanish language and development economics during her undergraduate years, and began researching development issues in Latin America at our graduate school. After studying abroad at the Mexican Graduate School, she developed a strong interest in the issues of inequality and poverty in the Mexican economy, and has been working on research based on three pillars: economic theory, empirical evidence, and national characteristics. Looking back on her own journey, in which she has continued to take on challenges driven by curiosity and energy, she offers her support to all students with promising futures.
    (Published in 2022)

  • College of Economics
  • Predicting population distribution for the next few decades by block and district
    Urban planning and disaster prevention planning
    Providing the underlying data
  • Professor Takashi Inoue
  • Foreseeing changes in the population structure over the long term is essential for national and local government policymaking. This is all the more true in Japan, where population decline is accelerating. However, detailed population estimates have been extremely difficult due to technical barriers. The smaller the estimated area, the more likely it is that numerical fluctuations will occur, and how can this be reduced? Professor Inoue applied a certain classical theory to devise a groundbreaking equation, enabling him to estimate future populations for each small region of the country. In this column, we will get to know the researcher better and explain the details of his new methodology.
    (Published in 2021)

  • College of Literature
  • The "SSARC model" leads
    Adapted to each individual's cognitive abilities
    A future where you can choose how you learn
  • Professor Robinson, P.J.
  • Professor Robinson, PJ is a pioneer of Task-Based Language Learning. He is also a leading authority in the field of language learning, and his papers are ranked in the top 1% worldwide in the fields of second language acquisition and applied linguistics in terms of the number of citations in Scopus (one of the world's largest abstract and citation databases). His scientifically-backed research is paving the way for the future of language learning, and the SSARC model theory he has established can be applied to a variety of studies outside of linguistics. (Published in 2021)

  • School of Global Studies and Collaboration
  • How will the Internet change language, opinion, and society?
  • Professor Eiichirou Kabashima
  • Printed communication, which first appeared in the late 1400s, has grown over the past 500 years alongside the major media in society, including newspapers, books, and magazines. However, with the rise of the Internet in the mid-1990s, a major change occurred. This was not just a shift in media, from paper to electronic, and from analog to digital, but a major change that shook up the words and thoughts we use. Here, we discuss with Professor Kabashima of the Faculty of Global Studies, who specializes in media industry theory, what this once-in-500-year change from print to the Internet was, and how it has changed our words and thoughts. (Published in 2021)

  • School of Cultural and Creative Studies
  • Understanding the Olympic Opening Ceremony's "Arts Program"
  • Professor Sayoko Iizasa
  • The Olympic and Paralympic Games kick off with a spectacular opening ceremony. A distinctive feature of opening ceremonies in recent years is that, in addition to ceremonies such as the athletes' march in and the lighting of the torch, the "arts program" has become a grand spectacle. From the perspective of my specialty, multicultural society theory, what is interesting about the content of this program is the production that appeals to the coexistence of multiple cultures and ethnicities. In this column, I will focus on the "arts programs" of the Sydney, London, and Rio de Janeiro Games, and try to unravel the stories of diversity and coexistence that each tells. (Published in 2019)

  • School of Global Studies and Collaboration, Department of Global Studies and Collaboration
  • Published on 2026/04/30
  • As a member of the local community, we listen to people's voices and explore the possibilities of international cooperation.
  • Professor Masanobu Horie

  • School of International Politics, Economics and Communication, Department of International Politics
  • Published on 2025/05/16
  • Analyzing horizontal cooperation among allied nations
    Research that contributes to stability in the Indo-Pacific region
  • Associate Professor Tomohiko Satake

  • School of International Politics, Economics and Communication, Department of International Politics
  • Published on 2025/05/16
  • Unraveling the causal relationships of conflicts and wars, and deriving logic that can be applied to similar cases.
  • Professor Yasuhiro Izumikawa

  • Faculty of Law, Department of Human Rights
  • Posted on 2024/05/17
  • Focusing on the perspective of legal research, tackling the issue of LGBTQ human rights
  • Professor Hiroyuki Taniguchi

  • College of Community Studies, Department of Community Studies
  • Posted on 2024/05/16
  • Considering work-life balance in the era of 100-year life spans
  • Professor Seiko Ogawa

  • School of Global Studies and Collaboration, Department of Global Studies and Collaboration
  • Posted on 2024/05/10
  • Pursuing reconciliation based on individual trust for sustainable peace
  • Professor Naoko Kumagai

  • Faculty of Law, Department of Human Rights
  • Posted on 2024/05/01
  • International human rights law protects all people on the planet.
    What are the challenges facing Japan in promoting human rights?
  • Professor Hae Bong Shin

  • Faculty of Social Informatics, Department of Social Informatics
  • Unraveling the mechanisms of people's financial behavior and stabilizing financial markets
  • Professor Hirotaka Fushiya

  • School of International Politics, Economics and Communication, Department of International Economics
    ​
  • What impact do differences in living environments have on children's development?
    Contributing to the realization of a sustainable society through both education and research
  • Associate Professor Seung-Gyu Sim

  • College of Community Studies,
    Department of Community Studies
  • From "sensitivity" and "intuition"
    We aim to unravel the state of education and society and resolve issues.
  • Professor Hiroshi Nishijima

  • School of Global Studies and Collaboration, Department of Global Studies and Collaboration
  • Mexico's economy falls into the "middle-income trap."
    We will consider the regional disparities and poverty issues.
  • Associate Professor Kaoko Sakikawa

  • College of Economics
  • Predicting population distribution for the next few decades by block and district
    Urban planning and disaster prevention planning
    Providing the underlying data
  • Professor Takashi Inoue

  • College of Literature
  • The "SSARC model" leads
    Adapted to each individual's cognitive abilities
    A future where you can choose how you learn
  • Professor Robinson, P.J.

  • School of Global Studies and Collaboration
  • How will the Internet change language, opinion, and society?
  • Professor Eiichirou Kabashima

  • School of Cultural and Creative Studies
  • Understanding the Olympic Opening Ceremony's "Arts Program"
  • Professor Sayoko Iizasa
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