2020/2/25

The last lecture by retiring Visiting Professor Hideki Kan and Visiting Professor Satoshi Hara were held on Friday, February 14th, a warm day that seemed to herald the arrival of spring with a daytime high at 14℃. The two lectures were attended by an audience of approximately 100 students, faculty, staff, and local residents.

Specializing in international relations between the U.S. and East Asia, the theme of Professor Kan’s lecture was: “What the Cold War was all about and its implications to the world afterwards.” He incorporated some of his reference materials in his lecture to explain how to characterize the Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union in the field of international politics of the 20th century. He also touched upon the confrontation between the United States and China, and summed up his research thus far.

Titled, “The two Whys in foreign policies of modern Japan,” Professor Hara who specializes in international politics and security spoke about the two big questions in modern Japan. He lectured about why Japan wasn’t colonized during the Meiji and Taisho eras by the Great Powers such as England, Russia, and Germany, and how the Japanese national character may have been related to why Japan couldn’t prevent the Pacific War.

The lecture by Professor Kan, who pursued an active career in universities in Japan and abroad, as well as writing on topics related to the United States, was a culmination of his work as a researcher. On the other hand, spending his effort in nurturing his students’ “ability to think” by conducting seminars and volunteer work, Professor Hara gave his lecture as a “teacher.” The last lectures surely showcased the paths taken by these two professors.

Professor Kan and Professor Hara, we express our deepest gratitude for your long years of dedication to education and research activities in our university.

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