Campus Visit from Japan

The past two weeks, Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) held an open house for potential applicants. There were several Japanese people who visited the campus, of whom I met four. I was often asked about advantages of HKS compared to other schools. I only spent one month here, but I would like to write down what I think are the characteristics of HKS. While there are many things I enjoy about the school, there are also ways in which it has not met my expectations.

1 Much Value on Social Activities
I feel that HKS students put much emphasis on social interactions between themselves, professors, and other professionals. There are not many students here who study desperately and strive to get good grades at any cost, or who wish to go into academia. In my program, the MPA2, half of the eighty students are pursuing joint MPA/MBA degrees. They seem to focus much of their energy on social activities rather than academic work because these activities directly affect their career development. In order to get good jobs at companies and international organizations, unofficial processes seem to exist. Thus, networking is important.

You can gain opportunities to work with professors if you are proactive. I know a graduate of HKS who did research with a professor in macroeconomics, eventually publishing a research paper during his stay. While this sort of research is possible here, it is difficult to pursue because it is not the norm. If you want to focus solely on academic work, it would be good to consider other graduate schools such as Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University or Goldman School at UC Berkeley.

But you can learn many things from these social networking activities. I am trying to attend as many social events as possible, though my main focus is academic work. I feel that I need to be a more extroverted person than I was in Japan in order to utilize the opportunities and maximize learning at HKS.

2 Courses
One of the advantages of HKS is that it has a wide range of courses, from practical one to philosophical and ideological ones. For example, HKS has a course named Politics and Ethics of the Use of Force, which examines in what cases nations should intervene militarily. HKS also has a course named Economic Justice, which examines what kind of economic policies are regarded as fair and equal. These courses might not be used immediately in your work, but through them you can develop important philosophical thinking.

On the other hand, a class called the Business- Government Relationship in the United States, which I am taking now, is taught by Roger Poter, who served as an economic adviser to President Reagan. From this course, I can learn practical things such as what I should know when I give advice to the President as an economic adviser, and how to manage the relationships between business, labor, and lobbyists. Similarly, in a negotiation course, I can learn practical negotiation techniques and know-how by dealing with real-world cases and doing one-on-one exercises every week. I feel that this wide variety of courses, from practical to philosophical, is an asset of HKS.

Office Hours for the First Time in My Life

Universities in the United States have a system called "office hours." This is the system where students go to meet professors in arranged time slots to talk one-on-one. Last week, I went to office hours for the first time in my life because Japanese universities don't have this kind of system.

The first professor I went to talk to was Professor Barbara Kellerman. I visited her because I had been stuck on the short paper which she had assigned. She was warm and interested in my new life in Boston and Harvard Kennedy School. At the same time, she pointed out the lack of my logic and evidence in my draft report. Thanks to her advice, I could figure out where I needed to further focus in my writing. It was only 15 minutes, but it was a highly concentrated, meaningful time.

After that, I also made use of office hours with Professors Henry Lee and Robert Lawrence. With Professor Lee, I talked about Japan's LNG (Liquefied natural gas) strategy and nuclear power policy. With Professor Lawrence, I talked about Japan's recent trade deficit, the influence and opportunity of China's rise for the Japanese economy, and the way to increase competitiveness of manufacturing industries in Japan. I also sought advice from both of them regarding what courses I should take at HKS in order to pursue my interests. Both of them were empathetic and gave me useful advice. These office hours were really meaningful opportunities for me. At the same time, I felt that I needed to prepare and study the subjects more beforehand in order to have deeper discussions with those professors. Next time, I want to prepare more before going to talk with them.

Since we have to talk with professors one-on-one, and it is easy to disclose our lack of knowledge during office hours, we tend to hesitate to go. But I think the advantages I can gain by using office hours are greater than the disadvantages, because I can talk with professors directly about my own interesting matters. I'd like to continue to make the most of this valuable opportunity.

Extra-Curricular Activities at HKS

One of the advantages of studying at HKS is that there is a great number of opportunities for extra-curricular activities. I made up my mind to make use of these opportunities: I will be the Chair of Japan Caucus at HKS and a member of the head committee of Vogel Study Group.

First, I was elected as the Chair of Japan Caucus at HKS. I went up for the position because I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to exercise leadership. In addition, I thought it would be an opportunity to mingle with diverse people because I would be a contact person for other caucuses or HKS administrative staff. Most of all, I had a strong sense of crisis regarding the decline of Japanese presence in HKS due to decreasing numbers of Japanese enrollment. Through activities this year, I would like to plan events on the Japanese culture and study sessions on Japanese economy and politics. I also want to plan a collaborative event with other caucuses in HKS.

Second, I will be a member of the head committee of Harvard Vogel Study Group. Vogel Study Group is a study group where a wide range of students and researchers gather under Ezra Vogel, a professor emeritus at Harvard and a specialist in Japan. This study group will focus on the Japanese economy, diplomacy, and internal affairs. This year, we will hold four subcommittees: international politics, international economy, international competitiveness, and internal affairs.

Since I arrived in Boston, I have been always asked by my classmates about Japanese politics and economy as a liaison to the country. But I sometimes could not answer the questions, especially questions about politics, because I haven't studied the subject until now. Thus, I made up mind to take the opportunity to attend the international politics subcommittee to study politics. I also became a member of the head committee where I work as a coordinator because I thought this would be a good opportunity to deepen the relationships with students and researchers from other Harvard schools, MIT, and Tufts Fletcher School.

I would like to study hard at HKS, which is my main job, as well as commit to extra-curricular activities like the Japan Caucus and Vogel Study Group.

An Enjoyable Interaction with Japanese Fellows at Harvard

Today, I went to a Harvard Japanese Association social event. It was held in the park near Fresh Pond, and was a barbecue. Many families with little children also attended the event.

Many Japanese studying at Harvard Business School, Kennedy School, Law School, School of Public Health, Design School, Medical School, Dental School, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, College (Undergrad), and the Fellow Program such as the US-Japan Program, gathered at once. There were over 100 people. Due to time constraints, I could only talk with some of the participants, but I'd like to keep participating this kind of event and build constructive relationships with other students outside the Kennedy School.

Dinner with a Great Japanese Politician

Today, I had dinner with a Japanese politician and Japanese colleagues who study in the Boston area. This politician used to work at my company and was also a graduate of Harvard Kennedy School (HKS). Today's dinner was organized because he happened to drop by Boston. He was energetic, knowledgeable, and engaging. He talked extensively about his own experiences; here, I outline what I learned from him.

1 What We Should Bear in Mind While Studying Abroad
(1) Strengthen English Capabilities
While studying at HKS, you should strengthen your English capabilities as much as possible. This politician improved his English capabilities by talking with his American English teacher every week. He made his teacher ask questions, and improved his English skills by answering those questions repeatedly. He also attended parties and brown-bag seminars even though he didn't understand the conversations. By doing that, many people remembered his face and he learned English little by little.

(2) Make Friends
You should make friends and build relationships with all kinds of students from all over the world. You will have a chance to work with them. Sometimes, friends at HKS will become President or Minister in their countries. In addition, Japanese friends you meet at Boston might become business partners in the future.

(3) Learn the American Way of Thinking
Harvard is one of the best places in the world to learn about how American people think of international relations and politics. You should take many courses at HKS related to these topics.

2 How to Grow Personally
This politician used to be in charge of personnel transfer at my company, and from that experience, he learned to think about how people grow personally. As a result, he found that a person who can reflect on himself or herself and have a wide variety of experiences, will grow personally. In particular, it is important to seek out opportunities proactively to have a wide range of experiences. For example, when you are asked by your employer about where you want to transfer in the future, you can seek valuable experiences by telling him that you want to go to a tough division. By working in an unexpected division and looking at a new world, you can learn how to deal with various situations in your life.

Fall Semester Courses

Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) classes started last week. I finally decided my fall semester courses. My selection criteria for courses are that they (1) can only be taken at HKS, and (2) will broaden my perspective and knowledge. As for (1), I thought that microeconomics or statistics could be learned through web-based courses such as MIT Courseware, or could be studied independently. As for (2), I thought I needed to build my knowledge on American history, economics, and philosophy in order to actively be engaged in social activities in the U.S. Taking these criteria into account, here is my final selection of courses:

1 MLD224: A Behavioral Science of Negotiations
Professor Julia Minson once taught negotiations at Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and has a reputation as a good teacher. There are several other courses on negotiations at HKS, such as a course by Professor Brian Mandel. Her approach, however, is unique: Professor Minson has a background in social psychology, so her classes put emphasis on emotional and psychological aspects of negotiations. Every week, I will do negotiation exercises with my partner, and we will review the strategy and results in the subsequent classes. One of my objectives in studying at HKS is to train my negotiation skills, so I would like to prepare well and learn as much as possible from this course.

2 ITF110: The Political Economy of Trade
Professor Robert Lawrence served as an economic adviser to President Bill Clinton. In the course, I will study the theoretical background of international trade, the structure of the WTO, and regional integration. There will also be WTO simulation exercises, which simulate trade negotiations with groups. Each group, made up of four students, will represent a different country in these trade negotiations.

3 IGA410: Energy Policy: Technologies, Systems, and Markets
Professor Henry Lee has a wealth of experience in teaching energy courses at Harvard. I will study oil and natural gas markets, nuclear power, renewable energy, and electricity markets. In the latter half of the course, we will do a case discussion on Japan's energy policy after the Fukushima nuclear accident. I don't have any experiences in studying energy issues in a structured manner, so I want to take this opportunity to study hard.

4 BGP100: The Business-Government Relationship in the United States
Professor Roger Porter served as executive secretary of the Cabinet Council on Economic Affairs in the Reagan administration. This course examines US business-government relationships and industry and trade policies, compared to those of other countries, including the EU, Japan, and China. This course will help me deepen my understanding of how political decision-making in the United States works.

5 MLD-352M: The Leadership System - Leaders, Followers, Context
HKS has more than 20 courses on leadership, but out of them, Professor Barbara Kellerman's approach to learning about leadership is most unique. She clearly says that the objective of this course is not to learn how to be leaders, but to examine followers who lack power, authority, or influence. She also prefers examining the context of leadership and followership we are in. We will look over several Western and Eastern philosophers, such as Confucius, Machiavelli, Locke, Mill, and so on. I am interested in how leadership and followership changed after the Fukushima calamity in Japan, and I will write a paper about that.