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2025.07.15

Scholarship Award Ceremony was held

On July 15, we held an award ceremony for two scholarships operated by College of IR.

The Saionji Memorial Scholarship (Academically Outstanding Students Category)
+R Undergraduate College Scholarship

At the award ceremony, a congratulatory speech was given by Dean Morioka after which the certificates were presented one by one.

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Mr.NAGAE Taisei and Mr.CHA Mok Won gave a speech on behalf of the recipients.
I congratulate all the recipients of the scholarships and wish them all the best in their studies.

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2025.07.14

We have released a short video summarising the college of IR.

2025.06.24

2025 Global Simulation Gaming (GSG) Held on June 21 Ritsumeikan University College of International Relations


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GSG is a course in which students take on the roles of real entities in the international community, such as “nations,” “international organizations,” “NGOs,” and “media,” and experience simulated international negotiations to solve actual international issues. The theme for the 2025 academic year was “International Security,” and students conducted negotiations based on this theme.

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On the day of the event, 354 second-year students were divided into 58 actors.

Students from the Japanese-based course major International Relations major (IR major) and the English-based course major Global Studies major (GS major) participated together in English, deepening cross-disciplinary learning and strengthen connection across two different majors.

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Students conducted preparatory learning from April to June through a combination of class-based lessons and groupwork-based lessons. Each actor group consisted of 5 to 8 members, who assigned roles such as president and foreign minister within their group and prepared for international negotiations with other groups.

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In the actual program, one session was considered to represent one year in the real world, and two sessions were held in one day. Students held various international conferences, including the United Nations General Assembly, and actively engaged in international negotiations to resolve issues. Additionally, media actors reported on events through news broadcasts, with each actor leveraging their unique strengths in their activities.

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Through GSG, students gained firsthand experience of the challenges and real-world nature of international negotiations—something that cannot be fully understood through TV or news alone. This experience not only cultivated their ability to analyze international events from multiple perspectives but also served as a catalyst for reflecting on their future academic pursuits and career paths beyond their third year.

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2025.05.16

Report on the guest lecture (Ms. IKEDA Waka : Independent / Freelance journalist)

Ms.Waka IKEDA, a freelance journalist with vast experience in writing about gender issues, was invited as a guest speaker on May 16, 2025, for the Professional Workshop course held by Dr. Astha Chadha. 

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Ms. Ikeda’s talk explored the gender imbalance in media industry, her work experience in the fashion and media industry. She also discussed the impacts of AI (artificial intelligence) on the job opportunities in media industry, particularly, use of AI tools in writing, development of AI tools by large media outlets in Japan for monetizing beyond subscriptions, AI’s integration in fact-checking, use of virtual television anchors and the problems of male gaze in AI. 

Ms. Ikeda’s and Dr. Chadha then organized a group discussion on the perceptions of gender (in)equality in workplace and ways to overcome gendered challenges. Students presented their group analysis and shared their views on how to bring about transformation in workplace.  

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2025.05.09

Report on the guest lecture (Ms. TEWARI Nupur : CEO, Connect India-Japan)

Ms. Nupur TEWARI, Founder & CEO of Connect India Japan which is the first exclusive media for India-Japan was invited as a guest speaker on May 09, 2025, for the Professional Workshop course held by Dr. Astha Chadha. 
Ms. Tewari is also an inner transformation & mindfulness coach, a yoga consultant & journalist. She addressed the students regarding her journey from being a foreigner in Japan looking for job opportunities to setting up her own company focused on India-Japan business relations. 

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Ms. Tewari’s talk covered several topics including, (1) her educational experiences and advice on how to plan a career in Japan, (2) how to adjust to life in a different country, (3) her professional experiences, and (4) how to navigate gender imbalance in the workplace. 

The talk was followed by a questions and answer session. The students were very engaged and asked a lot of great questions regarding opportunities for foreign students in Japan. Some students discussed possible entrepreneurship opportunities in Japan, while others asked follow-up questions from the lecture. Ms. Tewari concluded her lecture with remarks about the need to develop a positive outlook and how to maintain a stress-free work-life balance.

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2025.05.02

Report on the guest lecture (Prof. Tokuchi Hideshi : Research Institute for Peace and Security、President)

Professor TOKUCHI Hideshi, President of Research Institute for Peace and Security (RIPS), and dormer Vice-Minister of Defense for International Affairs (2014-2015) was invited as a guest speaker on May 02, 2025 in the Professional Workshop course held by Dr. Astha Chadha. 

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Professor Tokuchi graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Tokyo, completed a master's program at the Fletcher School (M.A.L.D.), and served as the Ministry of Defense's Director-General for Operations Planning, Director-General for Human Resources and Education, Director-General for Accounting and Equipment, Director-General for Defense Policy, and Deputy Director-General for Defense Policy, before his current leadership position at RIPS since 2017.  

Professor Tokuchi’s guest lecture explored security as a concept from academic as well as practitioner’s perspective. He emphasized on three main themes:

1.    Unique characteristics of security studies in the US, Japan and other states
2.    US-Japan security alliance
3.    Importance of holistic approach in international relations

The students engaged with the guest speaker, Professor Tokuchi, and asked him several questions related to his work in the government as well as his research. Prof. Tokuchi also advised students regarding job opportunities after graduation, the required skills to work for the government in security field, and how to decide a career in international relations.

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2025.04.30

The Alumni Association General Meeting and Reception Party 2025 will be held on 28 June in Tokyo.

2025.04.25

Report on the guest lecture (Mr. Jeff OTTO:Director of Fellowships and Next Gen Programs at Pacific Forum)

Mr. Jeff OTTO, Director of Fellowships and Next Gen Programs at Pacific Forum, Hawaii was invited as a guest speaker on April 25, 2025, for the Professional Workshop course held by Dr. Astha Chadha. Jeff Otto addressed the students online from Hawaii and talked about his journey from being a music student at university to working at a think-tank and progressing in his career to be a Director of Fellowships and Next-Gen Programs.

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Mr. Otto's talk covered several topics including, 
(1) his educational experiences and advice on how to plan a career after graduation degree in IR, 
(2) his life journey, 
(3) his professional experiences, 
(4) job market for IR graduates & opportunities in think-tanks in the US, 
(5) and Programs of Pacific Forum and opportunities for Ritsumeikan students for internships. 

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The talk was followed by a questions and answer session. 
The students were very engaged and asked a lot of great questions regarding opportunities for foreign students in the US think-tanks. 
Some students discussed possible career opportunities in American and European think-tanks, while others asked follow-up questions from the lecture. 

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Mr. Otto concluded his lecture with remarks about the positive outlook of Ritsumeikan students, stating that he was quite impressed by the thoughtful questions and was very pleased to share his knowledge and experiences with the students.
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2025.04.22

Japan under the Allied Occupation -What happened in Japan during the Allied Occupation? How does it affect present-day Japan?- (Prof.FRENCH Thomas William)

2025.04.22

Africa -Understanding Africa and its growing global presence to reevaluate Japan’s place in the world-(Prof.IWATA Takuo)