Message from the Dean of the Graduate School

Dean, the Graduate School of Global Studies

FUJINAWA Yasuhiro

In 1966, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies established a master's course in the Graduate School of Foreign Studies, and became a base for research and education into the languages and cultures of various regions in Asia, Europe and America. In 1977, the Graduate School of Area Studies was established, leading to the current basic structure of the graduate school as a base for language, culture and area studies. Further, in 1992, the reorganization of the Graduate School of Regional Studies resulted in the establishment of the Graduate School of Area and Culture Studies, with both a Master's and Doctoral program, and the expansion of the school's function to train researchers. Eventually, in 2009, the school was integrated and reorganized into the current Graduate School of Global Studies.

The Graduate School of Global Studies is a graduate school in the fields of humanities and social sciences that conducts interdisciplinary and comprehensive research into the languages, cultures and societies of various regions of the world. Although it is a small graduate school in terms of the number of students and faculty members, the languages and regions it studies are vast. It is also an international hub for Japan studies and Japanese language education. This wide-ranging research and education is made possible through collaboration with domestic and international higher education institutions, as well as with research institutions such as the Institute for Monetary and Economic Studies of the Bank of Japan and the Institute of Developing Economies - Japan External Trade Organization (IDE-JETRO).

In the fields of humanities and social sciences, there is a growing need for graduate schools to train the next generation of researchers as well as highly skilled professionals who will go on to work in companies and other organizations after completing their studies. At our university, around half of the students in the Master's program go on to work for government agencies or private companies after completing their studies. In the midst of these changes in the economy and society, our graduate school is working to train people who have both advanced research skills and practical skills, as well as people who have both deep insight and a broad perspective.