Contact
Professor / Head
Takako Hikotani
- Specialization :
- Japanese Politics, Japanese Foreign Policy, Civil-Military Relations
Academic Background
M.A. in Political Science, Stanford University
M.A. in Political Science, Keio University
B.A. in Political Science, Keio University
Biography
Born in Yokohama, I attended an all-girls school in Tokyo from Grade 1 to 12, but lived in California with my family for three years during elementary school. Determined to return to the United States to study, I visited the International Center at Keio University on my first day of college and asked how I could attend Stanford University as an exchange student. Fortunately, I was selected to study at Stanford, and upon graduation from Keio, I returned to Stanford to complete my M.A. Then, I attended Columbia University, where I received my Ph.D. in Political Science.
My academic career coincided with when universities in Japan tried to “internationalize,” and I have worked on student exchange and international programming alongside research and teaching throughout my career. I taught future officers of Japan's Self-Defense Forces at the National Defense Academy of Japan for 18 years. From 2016 to 2021, I was an Associate Professor at Columbia University, teaching Japanese politics and foreign policy. I returned to Tokyo in 2021 and was a Professor at Gakushuin University before joining the Center for Global Education, the University of Tokyo, in April 2025.
My research focuses on how democracies control their armed forces: how to reconcile a military strong enough to do what the civilians ask them to defend their country with a military subordinate enough to do only what civilians authorize them to do. I have since expanded my research to conduct public opinion surveys and explore how constitutional provisions affect foreign policy. I also write and provide commentary on Japanese politics and foreign policy in English in media outlets such as Foreign Affairs and NHK.
