Training professionals dedicated to clarifying and solving regional problems

The Department of Regional Administration ideally aims to broaden interest in law, politics, economics, and local government, while training professionals active in various areas of benefit to the public. The department emphasizes practical and on-hands learning in Okinawa and trains leaders with broad outlooks and deep understanding.


Department Characteristics

The department helps students deepen their understanding of the needs of local citizens while staying focused on Okinawa’s public concerns, and encourages students to clarify their future visions of the local community and public administration.

1. As part of the College of Law, students learn to think logically and make sound judgments on their own, so that they’ll be able to help create a just community.
2. Students gain a deeper understanding of the local reality, Japan, and the world, by first directly confronting Okinawan issues, such as the US military bases, the regional economy, employment, welfare, and international marriage and divorce.
3. Students rediscover the value of human interaction and local involvement through first-hand experiences and practice, and thereby develop their own ideas about administrative policy.

The Department of Regional Administration seeks applicants who want to study in the fields of law, politics, and public administration in order to expand their views and outlooks, and become future leaders who can contribute to the development of the local community. In accepting applicants, the department will especially place emphasis on the following points:

1. Whether the applicant possesses a strong interest in national and international affairs and in what happens in the local community, a strong will and desire to contribute to the local community through local government and private business, an individual plan for the future, and the
   ability to take the initiative.
2. Whether the applicant can recognize regional problems, and come up with solutions through logical thinking, based on knowledge already acquired.
3. Whether the applicant has their own ideas when engaged in looking for solutions, can expand the discussion by exchanging opinions with others, and come up with specific results.
4. Whether the applicant has experience in appealing to people with various values, and can cooperate with others in order to achieve a goal.
5. Whether in Japanese and social studies subjects, the applicant acquired the reading, writing, and other basic high school skills that are prerequisite for improving one’s ability at discerning and finding solutions for contemporary social issues.

In their first-year seminar, students will develop a productive learning-stye in a small-group atmosphere by researching, reading, understanding, making presentations, and expressing themselves. The seminar also helps student deepen their ties with the classmates they’ll be studying with over the next four years. In Administrative Affairs I and II, students don’t only acquire knowledge through book learning; they also get to hear from former and current government employees, and other experts with experience in politics and administrative affairs. From their second year, students will deepen their understanding of local government, public administration, policy process, and public works. Through the department’s unique curriculum, students will study law, administration, and politics in order to acquire the ability to discern and analyze hidden social problems, so that they can develop ideas and policies to improve the local community.