Campus & Community

Program on U.S.-Japan Relations names associates, fellows

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The Program on U.S.-Japan Relations has announced its 16 Program Associates and Advanced Research Fellows for the 2008-09 academic year. This year’s class of Program Associates includes scholars, professors, government officials, businesspeople, and journalists from Japan, the United States, and elsewhere.

While at Harvard, they will conduct independent research, which will be presented publicly as part of the program’s Tuesday seminar series, and will complete a paper that will be published as part of the program’s Occasional Papers series.

The 2008-09 Program Associates and Advanced Research Fellows are as follows:

Jessamyn Abel — Pennsylvania State University: Abel earned her A.B. in politics from Princeton University and her Ph.D. in modern Japanese history from Columbia University. Her publications include “The Ambivalence of Whaling: Conflicting Cultures in Identity-Formation” in “JAPANimals: History and Culture in Japan’s Animal Life” and “Cultural Internationalism and Japan’s Wartime Empire” in the forthcoming volume “Tumultuous Decade: Japan’s Challenge to the International System.” Most recently, she served as an assistant professor of history at Bowling Green State University, and she will be a senior lecturer of history at Pennsylvania State University starting in fall 2009. While at Harvard, Abel plans to complete her book manuscript, titled “Warring Internationalisms: Imagining Japan’s Place in the World, 1933-1964.”

Liv Coleman — University of Wisconsin, Madison: Coleman received her B.A. from Smith College in government and East Asian languages and literature before moving to the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where she earned an M.A. and a Ph.D. in political science. Her publications include “Designing Police: Interpol and the Study of Change in International Organizations” (co-authored with Michael Barnett) and “Family Policy: Framework and Challenges” in “The Demographic Challenge: A Handbook about Japan.” At Harvard, Coleman will conduct research on Japanese family policy responses to the declining birthrate.

Nobuhiro Hayashi — Ministry of Finance, Japan: Hayashi earned his B.A. in business and commerce from Keio University and an M.A. in economics from the University of Manchester. He has held positions in the Financial Bureau, Banking Bureau, and International Bureau of the Japanese Ministry of Finance, as well as in the Financial Services Agency. Most recently, he served as the deputy director of the National Property Policy Planning and Legal Division, Financial Bureau, in the Ministry of Finance. In 2005, Hayashi published an article on the exchange rate regime and the development of the regional financial market in ASEAN in The Finance (in Japanese). While at Harvard, Hayashi will examine credit risk management and the subprime lending problem in the United States.

Shigeru Kikuchi — Idemitsu Kosan Company: Kikuchi joined Idemitsu Kosan Co. Ltd. after earning his B.A. in law from Niigata University. At Idemitsu Kosan, he has held positions in the Kagoshima and Kanazawa branch offices and in the research and information and crude oil sections of the Overseas Operations Department. Between 2001 and 2005, he managed Idemitsu Kosan’s Middle East Office in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Most recently, he served as manager of the planning and coordination section in the Overseas Operations Department. At Harvard, Kikuchi will conduct research on the strategies of U.S. oil companies in the refinery sector and its implications for Japan.

Akio Koike — Tokyo Electric Power Co.: After receiving his B.A. in law from the University of Tokyo, Koike joined Tokyo Electric Power Co., where he has held positions in the Marketing and Sales, Corporate Planning, and Power Purchase and Contract Departments. Most recently, Koike was manager of the Office of Efficient Use of Energy in the Marketing and Sales Division, and worked to promote the highly efficient use of energy with the aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Koike has published numerous articles, including “Heat Pumps: Long-Awaited Way Out of Global Warming.” While at Harvard, Koike will conduct a comparative study of energy and climate policies in Japan and the United States.

Tetsuya Mizuno — Yomiuri Shimbun: Mizuno joined the Yomiuri Shimbun after earning a B.A. in economics and political science from Waseda University. He has reported on a wide range of international and domestic topics, including North Korea, police, and the Ministry of Defense. Mizuno’s reporting has taken him to approximately 15 countries including Malawi, Madagascar, and South Africa, where he wrote about the prevalence of HIV/AIDS. In 2007, Mizuno traveled to the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain where he covered the activities of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Forces in the Arabian Sea. During his academic year at Harvard, he will examine the future of the U.S.-Japan security alliance.

Reiko Nakamura — Japan’s National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies: Nakamura earned her LL.B. from the University of Tokyo, an M.P.P. from the Kennedy School of Government, and a Ph.D. in business economics from Columbia University. Since 1991 she has served as an associate professor and, most recently, as a professor at Japan’s National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS). She has published numerous articles on environmental and economic issues, and co-authored a book titled “Regulation in the Transitional Era” (in Japanese). She has also served in advisory committees organized by the Japanese government, including the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Cabinet Office. While at Harvard, Nakamura will examine the regional market-based approach for controlling greenhouse gas emissions in the United States and its implications for regional policy cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.

Kenta Namba — National Police Agency: After receiving his B.A. in law from the University of Tokyo, Namba joined the National Police Agency where he has served in the Fukui Prefectural Police, Escort Department of the Imperial Guard, and the Security Bureau. He has also served in the Security and Exchange Surveillance Commission of the Ministry of Finance and in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as first secretary in the embassy of Japan in Israel. During 1995-96, he was a visiting scholar at the New York University School of Law. Most recently, he was the director of the administrative department of the Nagasaki Prefectural Police. While at Harvard, Namba will investigate how governments and NGOs can support crime victims.

Hidemasa Nishiyama — Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry: Nishiyama earned his B.A. in law from the University of Tokyo before entering the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). At METI, he has also held positions in the Industrial Policy Bureau, Information and Machinery Industry Bureau, the Japan Patents Office, the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, and the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency. Most recently he served as deputy director of the General Affairs Division of the Minister’s Secretariat at the Ministry of the Environment. At Harvard, Nishiyama will examine international cooperation and integration of different carbon emissions trading systems.

Shiho Nishiyama — University of Yamanashi: Nishiyama earned her B.A. in geography from Ochanomizu University and her M.A. and Ph.D. in sociology from Keio University. She is currently an associate professor in the Graduate School of Sustainable Society at the University of Yamanashi. Her book examining civic activism after the Great Hanshin Earthquake, “Logic of Voluntarism” (in Japanese), won major awards from the Japan NPO [nonprofit organizations] Association and the Japan Society of Urban Sociology. She has also conducted research in London, Rome, and Seattle, and is the co-author of “Urban Regeneration and Community Governance in the United Kingdom” (in Japanese). While at Harvard, Nishiyama’s project will examine how community governance by social enterprises can promote urban regeneration in advanced industrial democracies.

Takaaki Nishiyama — Asahi Shimbun: After earning his B.A. in archaeology from the University of Kyoto, Nishiyama joined the Asahi Shimbun. Among his first assignments he worked in Asahi’s Kumamoto branch office, where his reporting focused on discrimination against those afflicted with Hansen’s disease and protests against the government regarding the Kawabegawa dam’s construction. Between 2004 and 2007, he was at the City News Section in Asahi’s Tokyo Headquarters and covered Livedoor’s violation of stock exchange laws and corruption at the Ministry of Defense. During his academic year at Harvard, Nishiyama will examine the way the media portrays AIDS patients in the United States and Japan.

Atsuki Shibuya — Japan Bank for International Cooperation: Shibuya earned his B.A. in economics from Kansai University and M.A. in economics from Kobe University before entering the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). In 2004, he became a strategy planner in the Policy and Strategy Department for International Financial Operations, where he supervised a project finance team and helped finance natural gas and petrochemical projects in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Russia. Most recently, he served as deputy director of the Planning Division at the Policy and Strategy Department, and played a key role in planning JBIC’s operation in the new Japan Finance Corp. Shibuya’s research at Harvard will evaluate the policy performance of Japanese and U.S. public financial institutions.

Takashi Shimada — Tokyo Gas Co.: Shimada joined Tokyo Gas Co. after earning his B.A. in sociology from Hitotsubashi University. He has held positions in the Sales and Marketing Section of the Adachi Branch, as well as in the personnel and corporate communications departments. Most recently, he has served as the chief of the Corporate Social Responsibility Section of the Corporate Communications Department. The Japan Federation of Employers’ Association has published his writings on management of total labor costs and retirement pensions. While at Harvard, Shimada will research the future direction of human resources management in Japanese companies.

Taro Sugimura — Japan Business Lab and Career Design School Gakyukan: Sugimura received his B.S. in science and technology from Keio University and an M.P.A. from Harvard Kennedy School. He has worked at Sumitomo Corp. He has also been a professional singer and songwriter, and his duo (named Shine’s) has had songs reach the top 10 on Japan’s pop charts. In 1992, Sugimura started his own company, Japan Business Lab, which consults with leading companies to help them formulate hiring strategies and training programs. At that time he also founded the Career Design School Gakyukan, which has helped job seekers in their careers. During the current academic year at Harvard, he will conduct research on the ways to support the working poor and the NEETs (Not in Education, Employment or Training) in Japan and the United States.

Kazuji Tanikawa — Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corp.: Tanikawa earned his B.A. in law from Sophia University before joining Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corp. He has served as manager in the Capital Market Division and in the Structured Finance Division, and as senior manager in the Real Estate Division. Most recently, Tanikawa was senior manager of the Real Estate Planning Division in the New Business Development Group, where he developed new products such as real estate derivatives and provided asset management services to global institutional investors. While at Harvard, Tanikawa’s research will examine how investors can pursue financial and environmental goals in real estate investments in the United States and Japan.

Jiyeoun Song — Harvard University: Song received her B.A. and M.A. in political science from Korea University before coming to Harvard where she earned her Ph.D. in government. Her research focuses on comparative political economy, labor markets, and institutional change in East Asia. Fluent in Korean and Japanese, she has been a visiting scholar at the East Asia Institute in Seoul and at the Institute of Social Science at the University of Tokyo. She is the recipient of the Douglas Dillon Fellowship and a fellowship from the Korean Foundation for Advanced Studies. Her writing has appeared in Korea Policy Review. During the current academic year, Song plans to complete her book manuscript, titled “Global Forces, Local Adjustments: The Politics of Labor Market Deregulation in Japan and South Korea.”