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. 

Short Report

Special seminar, titled: "Food security, development and the world food system." 

Speaker: Professor Haroon Akram-Lodhi, Professor of International Development Studies and Chair of the Department of International Development Studies at Trent University, Peterborough, Canada, as well as being the Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian Journal of Development Studies.

This special lecture was to examine the current evidence regarding food security and world food system. In particular, this seminar emphasized global hunger continues to be a pervasive issue around the world. The issue's principal cause is not to be found in the amount of food produced around the world, but rather is a consequence of the terms and conditions by which the world food system operates. The main part of the conclusion is that hunger can only be addressed by a root-and-branch transformation of the world food system.

This lecture was held in the Koshinkan Building, Kinugasa Campus, on 23 April 2015, hosted by Ritsumeikan Global Innovation Research Organization (R-GIRO) and Graduate School of International Relations, Ritsumeikan University. Approximately 90 participants attended and took the lessons from this special lecture.