Profile

Born in 1943 in Hyogo Prefecture. Graduated from the Department of Law of Kyoto University and received his doctor of laws (LLD) from the same university. Served as a professor of Law at the Kobe University, president of the National Defense Academy of Japan, and president of the Prefectural University of Kumamoto before becoming president of the Hyogo Public University Corporation of the University of Hyogo in April 2018. Also served as chair of the Japanese Political Science Association, chair of the Goverment's the Reconstruction Design Counsil in Response to the Great East Japan Earthquake, and chair of the expert panel on Kumamoto’s recovery and reconstruction.Selected as person of Cultural Merit. Areas of expertise include the history of Japanese political diplomacy. Major publications include Beikoku no Nihon senryo seisaku (The Occupation of Japan) (Chuokoron sha, awarded the Suntory Prize for Social Scienses and Humanities), Senryoki: Shusho tachi no shin-Nihon (The Occupation Period) (Yomiuri Shimbun, awarded the Yoshino Sakuzo Prize), and Sengo Nihon gaiko-shi (The Diplomatic History of Postwar Japan) (Yuhikaku, awarded the Yoshida Shigeru Prize).