Yale Bulletin and Calendar

November 9, 2007|Volume 36, Number 10


BULLETIN HOME

VISITING ON CAMPUS

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

IN THE NEWS

BULLETIN BOARD

CLASSIFIED ADS


SEARCH ARCHIVES

DEADLINES

DOWNLOAD FORMS

BULLETIN STAFF


PUBLIC AFFAIRS HOME

NEWS RELEASES

E-MAIL US


YALE HOME PAGE


Todai-Yale venture to boost
Japanese Studies in the U.S.

An initiative designed to promote Japanese Studies in the United States has been launched by Yale and the University of Tokyo (Todai), Japan’s premier educational and research institution.

The initiative, titled the Todai-Yale Initiative for Japanese Studies and Related Humanities and Social Sciences (or, less formally, the Todai-Yale Initiative), is the latest of many ongoing academic and student exchanges between the two universities. University of Tokyo President Hiroshi Komiyama and Yale President Richard C. Levin signed documents formally establishing the initiative on Nov. 2 in New York City.

The Todai-Yale Initiative will bring researchers from Japan to the Yale campus, where they will both further their own research and contribute to the field of Japanese Studies on campus.

“The creation of a research base in the U.S. is an important part of the University of Tokyo’s plan to promote globalization of Japanese studies and the first step towards bringing the discipline into the 21st century,” said Komiyama. “And since Todai and Yale have a century-long history of academic exchange, it was only natural for us to work with this great university.”

Levin added, “We welcome Japanese scholars to Yale and look forward to collaborating with them on research in many areas of humanities and the sciences, as well as adding new knowledge and understanding to the broad field of Japanese studies.”

The three Todai researchers who will travel from Tokyo to Yale this fall are Junko Kato, professor in the Graduate School of Law and in political science; Takuji Okamoto, associate professor of the history and philosophy of science in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences; and Koji Yamamoto, research associate of political science in the Institute of Social Science.

Kato specializes in comparative politics and political economy. She has published two books in English, “The Problem of Bureaucratic Rationality,” which was awarded the Masayoshi Ohira Memorial Prize, and “Regressive Taxation and the Welfare State.” She received her Ph.D. from Yale in 1992.

Okamoto’s specialty is the history of science. Along with his research on the history of physics in America, he has surveyed the history of science and technology of Japan, and has written several articles on electric engineering and physics in pre-war Japan.

Yamamoto studies the contemporary Japanese political process. His major areas of interest include election and voting behavior, competition in the political policy arena and electoral systems in democracies.

Kato, Okamoto and Yamamoto are the latest in the long line of Japanese scholars who have studied, taught or conducted research at Yale — starting with Kan’ichi Asakawa, the notable Japanese historian and the first Japanese person to teach at Yale, who earned his Ph.D. from Yale in 1902. He became an instructor at Yale in 1907 and a full professor in 1937.

In the future, the Todai-Yale Initiative will sponsor workshops, seminars, a series of lectures on topics in humanities and social sciences, as well as multiple collaborative efforts. A newly formed not-for-profit corporation, Friends of Todai Inc., will seek donations from Todai alumni as well as other individuals and organizations with an interest in U.S.-Japan relations. Friends of Todai Inc. will aim to provide the University of Tokyo with financial assistance in support of all its academic and educational activities in the United States.

The University of Tokyo (Todai) was established in 1877 as Japan’s first national university. As a leading research university, Todai offers courses in essentially all of the academic disciplines, and conducts research across a full spectrum of academic activity. Its graduates have included 16 prime ministers of Japan and five Nobel Prize winners.


T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S

Todai-Yale venture to boost Japanese Studies in the U.S.

Yale dedicates $8 million Clean Room

For some infants, mother’s milk can help increase IQ, says study

Engineering lessons get real-world application . . .


ENDOWED PROFESSORSHIPS

School of Public Health launches new Advanced Professional . . .

Shareholder activist creates fund at Yale center for corporate governance

Yale ceremony to commemorate Veteran’s Day

Procrastination is not an option at Dissertation Boot Camp

Show features Chinese artist’s works of ‘Revolution and Rebirth’

IN MEMORIAM

From the United Way: ‘A Tale of Guiding Young Fathers’

Program to look at company developing innovative . . .

Campus Notes


Bulletin Home|Visiting on Campus|Calendar of Events|In the News

Bulletin Board|Classified Ads|Search Archives|Deadlines

Bulletin Staff|Public Affairs|News Releases| E-Mail Us|Yale Home