Message from the Dean

　In the midst of the efforts to make the 20^th century a more peaceful one than the previous century in which two world wars were waged and various armed conflicts and wars were fought in many parts of the world, the global pandemic emerged in 2020. We were once again faced by new agenda. Many countries closed their borders in order to stop the virus. Yet, with the movements of people inevitably lead to the global pandemic. Many questions were posed: What would have protected or would protect our lives and safety? How are we to be connected to each other and what does it meant to be connected? What would the global community look like now? These are not new questions but we realized clearly the need for new perspectives.

Connecting globally

　One of the strengths of GSGS is, of course, our research on the global issues. That means we, the researchers at GSGS are connected beyond traditional academic fields and area studies. We believe global connection is necessary to address these global issues. It may not be an exaggeration to say that the global connection is inevitable for the survival of our planet.

　Climate change is a good example. We have almost daily witnessed extreme weather conditions somewhere in the world. This can be called Climate Crisis, even. These abnormal weather conditions are attributed to global warming or CO2 emission that affect far beyond one country or region. It should be noted that the severity of the impacts of climate change differ from community to community or person to person, depending on where one lives, what kind of policies one’s government has, or what access one has to the resources. Sex, gender, or sexual orientation are also factored into the differences in the impacts. We hope you will pay close attention to such aspects of global issues.