Governor of Kumamoto, Ikuo Kabashima speaking at Harvard

Here is an event that may be of particular interest to Kumamoto JET alums!

Ikuo Kabashima Governor of Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan The Political Economy of Kumamon: A New Frontier in Japan’s Public Administration

Tuesday, November 12, 2013, 12:30pm to 2:00pmA

http://programs.wcfia.harvard.edu/us-japan/event/ikuo-kabashima-kumamoto-prefecture-japan-title-tba?width=600px&height=400px&inline=true#colorbox-inline-1566520385

Moderator: Susan Pharr Director, Program on U.S.-Japan Relations, and Edwin O. Reischauer Professor of Japanese Politics

(Co-sponsored by the Fellows Program, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs)

Dr. Kabashima is currently serving his second term as the Governor of Kumamoto Prefecture, where he led the creation of “Kumamon” as Kumamoto’s brand in Japan and the world. Prior to his career in public service, he taught at the University of Tokyo as Professor at the Graduate School of Law and Politics. He is a prolific scholar of political parties, political participation, media, elections, and other topics related to contemporary Japanese politics. His books include Changing Politics in Japan (co-author, Cornell UP, 2009), Seiji sanka (University of Tokyo Press, 1988), and Sengo seiji no kiseki (Iwanami, 2004). He has also served as Dean of the Graduate School of International Political Economy and Professor in the College of Policy and Planning Sciences at Tsukuba University. He came to the US as an agricultural trainee in Idaho, received his BA (Agriculture) from University of Nebraska, MPA from Harvard Kennedy School, and Ph.D (Political Economy and Government) from Harvard University.

Location: Belfer Case Study Room (S020), CGIS South, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge MA

Here is a short introduction video to his views on politics.