Guest Speaker: Gianluca BONANNO (Dr., International Relations, Ritsumeikan University, Japan, 2011) is a Visiting Assistant Professor at the Centre for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University; a research associate at the Mekong River Commission Secretariat; and a visiting research associate at the Asian Development Bank. He is a member of many academic associations dealing with Southeast Asia. He is a consultant at the International Criminal Police Organisation and the European Police Office for the trans-national crime. He serves as an international advisory board member for the Greater Mekong Sub-region Academic and Research Network. His main research interest is in trans-boundary issues in the Greater Mekong Sub- region (mainland Southeast Asia) and beyond, particularly the multi-faceted socio-economic development of border zones and its broader political implications.

The workshop discusses the gap between theory construction and its implementation in the day-to-day life. At the most basic, Dr. BONANNO argued that all the academic works should contribute and improve humanity and the quality of life of the human being. Dr. BONANNO elaborated the significance of how the academic products could inform the decision makers to formulate appropriate policies for the society. In particular, He exposed examples how the academic outcomes help to reduce human trafficking in the border of Cambodia and Thailand and assist people in solving the environmental challenge such as drought in Indonesia. 

The workshop was held in Ritsumeikan University Kinugasa Campus, on November 12, 2015, hosted by the Ritsumeikan Global Innovation Research Organization (R-GIRO) and Ritsumeikan University's Graduate School of International Relations.

Approximately 35 participants attended the workshop.

Guest Speaker: Ms. Slavica Ninic is a Ph.D. student in Political Science at Kobe University Graduate School of Law. In 2012, she earned her MA in Political Science at the same graduate school. After graduating in 2004 from Belgrade University Faculty of Philology, she enrolled Belgrade University Graduate School of Political Science, switching her major from Japanese language and culture to International Relations IR. Her main research interests today are in IR theory and gender issues. Since 2013, she has been a Research Fellow at EU Institute Kansai, and in September 2015 she became a part-time Training Management in Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). She actively involved in volunteering activities aimed at the promotion of cultural exchange and understanding and support of persons from socially marginalized groups.

The attractive points of the workshop were that the speaker had both exposed the content of gender equality in Japanese Armed Forces and spotlighted its research process. The workshop especially underlined how the steps of research had been conducted and what kinds of challenge and difficulties raised in the way. As the result, the participants of the workshop could hear the content and the process of the study. Most importantly, the participant could learn a lot that there is no royal road to science to step paths and to have a chance of gaining its luminous summits.

The workshop was held in Ritsumeikan University Kinugasa Campus, on November 5, 2015, hosted by the Ritsumeikan Global Innovation Research Organization (R-GIRO) and Ritsumeikan University's Graduate School of International Relations.

Approximately 35 participants attended the workshop.

This lecture interestingly described and explained how International Law and Convention of Diplomatic Protection have been constructed and how they have been practically implemented. The discussion was especially bold the States’ Responsibility in International Protection of Human Rights and underlined how they have been used and employed. The speaker showed many cases to learn.

Approximately 30 participants attended the workshop.

Guest Speaker: Dr. Tomoko Yamashita is JSPS Post-doctoral Research Fellow at Kyoto University. She holds a Ph.D. (2015), LL.M. (2009) and LL.B. (2007) from Kobe University and Master complémentaire en droit international (2012) from Université libre de Bruxelles.  She researches and publishes in the areas of international criminal law, international investment and human rights with a special focus on questions of jurisdiction.

On Wednesday, September 25, the Ritsumeikan University Undergraduate and Graduate School Spring Graduation Ceremony 2015 was held at Suzaku Campus. There, 37 students from the College of International Relations and 8 students from the Graduate School of International Relations were awarded Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees.
At the University-wide graduation ceremony, Ms. MEHARI Kebrallem (UK) gave a speech as the student representative. Ms. Jun Sakakibara (Japan) and Ms. BOGAN Camreon Catllyn (U.S.A.) also gave speeches as student representatives at the departmental ceremony. Many family members and friends of graduates, faculty and staff members were there to celebrate. Graduates will soon start their new careers here in Japan and around the world.

KIM Hyo-sook (Assistant Professor, Kansai Gaidai University)

A special lecture is held at 29, June, 2015 at Koshinkan-building, Ritsumeikan University. The lecturer is KIM Jup-sook, an assistant professor at Kansai Gaidai University.  5 students joined in the seminar.

This seminar discusses on behavioral change of Korea in Official Development Assistance. Korea had increased the share and amount of the ODA toward Africa since 2014. This seminar argues the factors behind the increase. KIM Hyo-sook points out the two factors. First,  aid norm in international aid community affect to Korea. She argue that, this norm let Korea concentrate its aid on Africa to a greater extent. Secondly, other aiding countries also affect to Korea. Especially, China and Japan increase their activities at the same period. This also led Korea to the increase of the aid to Africa. She conclude that the rise of Africa in South Korea’s ODA since the mid-2000s resulted from the policy maker’s responses to approaches by several stakeholders inside and outside South Korea.

Dr. Kennedy Agade Mkutu,

Visiting Professor, Graduate School of Asian and African Studies, (ASAFAS), Kyoto University and Associate Professor, United States International University-Africa (Kenya)

A special lecture is held at 18, June, 2015 at Koshinkan-building, Ritsumeikan University. The lecturer is Dr. Kennedy Agade Mkutu, who is currently a visiting scholar of Kyoto University, and who have a post of associate professor at United State International University-Africa located in Kenya.

This special lecture is based on three years of research in Turkana since oil was discovered and explores the potential for further conflict. The oil discovering brings out a variety of issues, particularly governance and human security issues and analyses how these may interact with pre-existing conflict dynamics. It concludes that oil has the potential to lead to armed conflict or crime on a larger scale and that the most crucial factor that can be either ignored or assisted is the livelihood of pastoralists.

This lecture was held in the Konshinkan Building, Kinugasa Campus, on June 18, 2015, hosted by Ritsumeikan Global Innovation Research Organization (R-GIRO) and Graduate School of International Relations, Ritsumeikan University.

Approximately 50 participants attended and took the lessons from this lecture.

As part of the “Professional Training” in the English course of the Graduate School of International Relations, the students visited government institutions as well as private corporations and Japanese traditional crafts in Ayabe City on June 5th and 6th.

At the Ayabe City Hall, students attended a presentation by Mayor Yamazaki on the decreasing in population and the problem with the aging population. Students also learned some of the tasks local governments face nowadays. 

The students attended an observation tour at the Nikko Seiko Co., Ltd. and they acquired the knowledge of how a local company was able to expand and to develop into a global-scale corporation.

After the observation tour, the students paid a visit to the Kuroya Washi Kogei no Sato (Kuroya Japanese Paper Handicraft Village) which is located in Tokuranabatake town. The students learned the process of making traditional Japanese handmade paper and they also accepted the challenge of making it. It was the first time for many of the students and they were able to produce a Japanese paper that is unique and unmatched.

The last stop of the tour was at Gunze Memorial Hall where the students learned the entrepreneurial spirit which was established 130 years ago and the management philosophy of serving the society. 

Students from 13 different countries and Japanese students gained a brand new prospective on Japan and Kyoto after this training tour.

Speaker: The UNESCO Chair in Transnational Challenges and Governance and Chair of the ASEAN Studies Center,Professor of American University, Washington, D.C.

This public talk was to explore how the 1955 Bandung conference has influenced the formation of the contemporary world order. This talk was impressive as the perspectives provided are both insightful and resourceful.  Professor Acharya revealed that as the first multilateral and intercontinental conference held after the Second World War, Bandung Conference had large contribution to both the scope and the meaning of the development post-war world political dynamics. The conference also presented some legacies such as reshaping the Cold War, the Birth of Non-Alignment movement, and the delegitimation of the Cold War Pacts. Most importantly, the conference has also created norm subsidiarity, such as universal sovereignty, anti-colonialism, universal human rights, UN, and disarmament. Last but not least, the conference paved the way for the creation of the current ASEAN community and the foundation of the importance of South-South solidarity and cooperation. In short, Bandung conference is one of the milestones movement in post-war international political dynamics.