Our Department

 
The Department of International and Business Law, Graduate School of International Social Sciences, Yokohama National University, has its origin in the Graduate School of International and Business Law, which was established in 1990. At the graduate school, there were two principles: Open Graduate School; and Advance Avoidance of Conflicts and Their Rational Resolution.

By “Open Graduate School,” we meant education and research that was open to adjacent research areas, the international community, and legal practice. “Advance Avoidance of Conflicts and Their Rational Resolution” meant turning away from the existing style of legal education and research with the notion of law as a judicial norm the objective of which is post-conflict resolution, and instead positioning law as a means of avoiding conflicts in advance. The goal was to conduct education and research for people who face actual conflicts and issues in society.

In 2013, the program was reorganized into the current Graduate School of International Social Sciences (Master's and Doctoral programs in International and Business Law and the Law School) and Faculty of International Social Sciences. However, these two principles themselves have been maintained over the past 30 years. These principles are now embodied in the three characteristics of the Department of International and Business Law: advanced practicality, an international perspective, and openness for mutual improvement.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally changed our society, which may not return entirely to its original state even after the pandemic is over. The most important thing, however, is not to turn back the clock to before 2020, but to carry our society to the next stage, building upon our experiences from the pandemic, with regard to which advances in science and technology have been demonstrated to be highly effective. Such advances are sure to continue to have a major impact on society in the future. Along with this sweeping trend of progress in science and technology, what roles can social sciences, in particular the juristic and political sciences, play? Such social sciences have traditionally been expected to regulate the advancement of technology. In recent years, however, increasing attention has been paid to ELSI/PRI research and other activities in these academic disciplines that analyze from a multifaceted perspective a wide spectrum of social issues stemmed from emerging science and technology, so that they can play the role of promoting responsible research and innovation towards the creation of a more desirable society in which such new technology is put to appropriate use.

Our goal is to develop human resources who are equipped with knowledge not only in the juristic and political sciences but also in interdisciplinary fields, such as those with economics and business administration, and can use juristic and political scientific approaches to think flexibly to resolve conflicts and challenges that occur in real life as science and technology progress. We look forward to supporting and learning together with all of you who are sensitive to the problems of our society in this uncertain situation and who want to solve them to the greatest extent possible.