Makihara Laboratory

Political administration studies that are unique to RCAST and its integration of research on the humanities, sciences and other disciplines

The Makihara Lab on Political Administrative Systems conducts the type of research on public administration and political science that is only feasible at RCAST, which is unique for its integration of research on the humanities, sciences and other disciplines. Professor Makihara, who asserts “public administration relates to all things in nature”, is also researching areas that have not normally been in the focus of studies on public administration. Moreover, he is forging ahead with interdisciplinary research through various collaborative research projects that crossover the natural and social sciences.

Oral histories and collaborative projects

The main research theme at the Makihara Lab is the Oral History Project, which records the experiences narrated by public figures such as politicians, administrative and judicial officers, journalists, and cultural figures. In addition to the discovery of new historical materials, we use oral history methods to conduct research on post-war Japanese political history and the history of governance structural reforms, as well as comparative historical research on Western nations.

The word “archive” permeated the social lexicon following the Great East Japan Earthquake, and this led to a wider recognition of the significance of recording memories. At the Makihara Lab, we have been focusing on this social trend while moving forward with the Oral History Project from a long-term perspective.

We are also leveraging the “universality” of public administration and overlapping this strength with its crossover in other fields, while organizing study groups and research seminars; an example of this is the Co-Creation Living Lab. This is a Regional Partnership Project that links various RCAST labs with regional municipalities and communities in a “many-to-many” relationship, and utilizes the findings and networks at RCAST to solve the issues in regions and communities. In addition to these projects, our lab is also spearheading a range of collaborative projects both in Japan and overseas.

Considering the “operation” of systems

The Makihara Lab is located in RCAST Building 13, which is famous for its clock tower (former Tokyo Imperial University Aeronautical Research Institute). Incidentally, you’ll only understand how the tower’s clock operates if you look at its movements and mechanisms from the inside (reverse side).

Similarly, the newly purported “actuation studies” estimates how systems operate from the inside, and attempts to evaluate and verify this operation while considering the design of political and administrative institutions. Recently in Japan there have been notable cases of ensuing problems with new political and administrative systems not operating smoothly or requiring an enormous amount of effort to operate, such as the Individual Number (My Number) Card and the Citizen Judge System. These problems are due to each system’s operation not being adequately estimated and evaluated beforehand.

At the Makihara Lab, we are conducting analytical research on current political and administrative phenomena from the perspective of “actuation studies”, which is a field I believe will become increasingly important in contemporary society where, because of the highly developed information systems in place, new systems are required to immediately operate swiftly from the instant they come online.

For those who wish to experience a connection to all things in nature

About half of all graduate students at Department of Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies are also working adults; however, I’d like more working adults to take up postgraduate studies and utilize the resources at RCAST to conduct research. Public administration is notably universal in nature, and so I’d like to work with people who are interested in all things in nature, while re-evaluating their position in it.

Although I think research on contemporary matters will become the mainstream of public administration studies, I welcome anyone to my lab who is interested in history and fascinated by the dialogue between the present and the past; and if you have an interest in the Oral History Project and the Co-Creation Living Lab, that’s great too. I’m keen to move ahead with my research together with “those persons who wish to experience a connection to all things in nature.”