Sana Sugita is a master’s student in East Asian studies. Her research interests include democracy and freedom, nationalism, identity, and the social impact of algorithms and AI.

Yifei Cheng, ’26, is excited every week to learn about unorthodox and relatively lesser-known historical figures who played a major part in Japanese history. For instance, Onodera Makoto, a Japanese military attaché, allegedly sent a telegram to the Japanese General Staff shortly after the Yalta Conference in February 1945, warning that Stalin had promised during the conference that the USSR would attack Japan three months after the German surrender. Or Kiyosawa Kiyoshi, who criticized the Manchurian Incident, Shanghai Incident, and the Sino-Japanese War, and later turned to writing diplomatic history, keeping a detailed diary during the Pacific War.

These are some of the stories Dr. Shinichi Kitaoka, a visiting scholar at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) and Japan Program fellow, weaves into his spring quarter seminar series, Reexaminations of Major Issues in Modern Japanese Politics and Diplomacy. “It has been wonderful to hear how Dr. Kitaoka introduces us to Japanese diplomacy,” says Cheng. “With his experience as the former president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), he connects these facts and compares them to real occurrences in the 120 countries he has visited around the world.”

During the seminar series, students and the APARC community explored, through a fresh lens, new interpretations of major issues in Japanese politics and diplomacy from the Yedo period in the 17th century to the present day.

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Cheng, a history major, was drawn to the seminar’s foreign policy perspective. “It helped me to see how domestic policies and foreign policy interact. I feel that often, they are treated separately. But, this has been a nice way to understand how they connect and see how internal dynamics and external pressures shape policy decisions on both fronts.”

The seminar was developed during Dr. Kitaoka’s quarter-long visiting fellowship at APARC. Kitaoka serves as special advisor to the president (and former president) of JICA, as well as emeritus professor at the University of Tokyo and ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary, deputy permanent representative of Japan to the United Nations (2004–2006).

This class originated in response to a request by Kiyoteru Tsutsui, the director of the Japan Program, due, in part, to his concern about the decline in high-quality research on Japanese politics. Kitaoka notes that current interest in Japan tends to focus on culture more than on politics and diplomacy. “I considered offering a course on Japan’s road to war, a topic I have written about in my book, From Party Politics to Militarism in Japan, 1924–1941," he says. "Instead, I decided to focus on six key topics: the Meiji restoration, Taisho democracy, surrender and occupation, the Regime of 1955, the recent development of Japan’s security policy, and Japan’s official development assistance (ODA).”

“When discussing Japanese diplomacy and history, terms such as 'fragile' and 'failed' are often used. Today, we are seeing how unstable and precarious democracy and diplomacy can be around the world. That is why I believe there are important lessons to be learned from reexamining modern Japan. This is what led me to create a class on the subject. From my experience at JICA and the United Nations, I also know how challenging democratization can be in developing countries. Studying Japan, a formerly developing country that has successfully developed, can be helpful. In particular, Japan’s unique approach to ODA offers useful insights as we think about the future.”

Each session included a 90-minute lecture followed by a Q&A, and those who wanted to stay afterward had dinner together. These more casual discussions offered a space to continue engaging with class materials and explore more questions or related topics. Kitaoka noted that he was impressed by how the students and audience responded in class. Even when the class touched on sensitive topics, like the atomic bomb and World War II, he felt they received it calmly and thoughtfully.

“There are students taking the seminar for credit, APARC members, faculty, and community members coming to listen,” Kitaoka says. “Everyone’s research interests are different, but they all ask a variety of questions based on what they know – that is something I have enjoyed at Stanford. In Japan, when there are experts or faculty members attending, students or people with less experience do not ask questions. At Stanford, everyone, no matter their background or level of expertise, asks. I really like that.”

“Staying at Stanford has been wonderful, just as I expected,” Kitaoka adds “The number of opportunities available for each student is incredible. Each person can try various things – from research and teaching assistant opportunities to club activities to startups – and the fact that the school encourages that is just great. In Japan, schools create more of an environment to just focus on one thing rather than trying a variety of activities.”. Interacting with faculty at APARC and the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and reexamining his own scholarly work from a comparative perspective has been an engaging experience, Kitaoka notes. He believes that American political theory tends to be inward-focused and emphasizes the importance of comparative studies, especially given Asia’s rising global presence – making APARC’s work particularly important.

“Politics and diplomacy are important because their misunderstanding can lead to war. I am sad that they are a rather neglected,” Kitaoka said.

“Experience other civilizations while you are young – non-Western civilizations, like in Asia or Africa,” he advises young scholars aspiring to a future in political science. “It really broadens your world.”

After returning to Japan, he hopes to further contribute to international cooperation, which he believes is now in crisis. “More cooperation, the restoration of international cooperation, is needed – especially in the Western Pacific: Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asian countries, and Australia. Like the EU, I am envisioning a Western Pacific Union. I hope to do something in that direction to realize that,” he said.

Steven Han is a foreign area officer in the U.S. Army and a first-year master’s student in East Asian studies. “I took this class because I have a limited background in Japan, but with my job, there is a possibility I will work in or with Japan. I like how Kitaoka touches on all students’ comments from the response papers, and I get his own personal feedback every week.”

“Everything is new to me,” Han added. “It was just very different, and I am learning so much in every class.”