2026 (Current Year) Faculty Courses Liberal arts and basic science courses Entrepreneurship courses
Master's Public Policy and Careers of Government Officials
- Academic unit or major
- Entrepreneurship courses
- Instructor(s)
- Akira Izumi
- Class Format
- Lecture (Face-to-face)
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - 5-6 Mon (S4-201)
- Class
- -
- Course Code
- ENT.C551
- Number of credits
- 100
- Course offered
- 2026
- Offered quarter
- 3Q
- Syllabus updated
- Sep 17, 2026
- Language
- Japanese
※ Courses with parentheses in the course number have different subject codes depending on the student's year of admission.
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
Public policies such as innovation, infrastructure, industrial promotion, environmental conservation, energy, and digitalization implemented by central government ministries and agencies significantly impact Japanese society and industry in a wide range of fields. Regardless of the career path chosen in industry or academia after completing a master's program, it is highly likely that these public policies will be relevant in many aspects. Therefore, understanding these public policies—from their formulation to implementation, including the issues involved —is highly beneficial for future career development. This applies not only to students aspiring to become central government officials but also to those entering university/research institutions or even private companies after graduation.
Furthermore, understanding their job responsibilities, career paths, and motivations for science-backgrounded central government officials who manage actual policies not only broadens students' future career options but also enables deeper consideration of their future career development by comparing these perspectives with students' own career aspirations.
With close cooperation of multiple central government ministries and agencies, this course directly provides lectures from central government officials with science backgrounds. They will share real public policies such as innovation, infrastructure, industrial promotion, environmental conservation, and energy, along with the significant impacts these policies have on industry, academia, as well as society.
Furthermore, the lecturers will share insights into their own professional careers to date and their perspectives on future career development.
This course will not be just a one-way lecture by the lecturers. It will also include discussions between lecturers and students, as well as policy simulations. Students will not just get a deeper understanding of policies, but also enhance their information-gathering skills and more.
Lectures are delivered in Japanese, so students should have Japanese language skills enough to understand the content of the lectures.
Attendance will be recorded at every lecture, so please be sure to bring your student ID.
Course description and aims
1. Learn directly from national civil servants about policy formulation and actual issues, such as innovation policy, industrial promotion, digital policy, and understand their impact on industry, academia, and society.
2. Enable to explore a broader perspectives of future career development by understanding of the responsibilities within central government ministries and agencies, how science backgrounds are leveraged, and career development as government officials.
3. Enhance their information gathering skills and networking abilities through discussions with central government officials and policy simulations.
Student learning outcomes
実務経験と講義内容との関連 (又は実践的教育内容)
Central government officials with science backgrounds will directly lecture on the policies in their charge.
Keywords
Public Policy, Government Officials, Career
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Class flow
Lecture (approximately 60 minutes) followed by Q&A and discussion (approximately 30 minutes).
Lecturers and lecture content are subject to change.
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Introduction (organizations of central government ministries and agencies , responsibilities, and jobs and positions suitable for those with science backgrounds / Innovation policy -The National Personnel Authority explains the overview of national civil servants. |
Students can identify valuable/useful contents from the lecture for developing their own future careers and consider them relevant to themselves. |
| Class 2 | Infrastructure supporting our lives and the Economy The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism is responsible for policies across a wide range of fields—including roads, rivers, ports, airports, and community development—that support our daily lives and serve as the foundation for economic activities. |
Students can identify valuable/useful contents from the lecture for developing their own future careers and consider them relevant to themselves |
| Class 3 | Investment in science, technology, and academia The lecture provides an overview of the broader landscape of Japan’s science, technology, and innovation policies, including the policy-making framework, key policy tools, and recent policy topics. Through this lecture, students are expected to deepen their understanding of these policies and have the opportunity to reflect on their own research activities and future career paths.
|
Students can identify valuable/useful contents from the lecture for developing their own future careers and consider them relevant to themselves |
| Class 4 | Human resources policies that drive the digital society The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has been working to develop digital talent to support the advancement of DX (Digital Transformation) and AX (AI Transformation). |
Students can identify valuable/useful contents from the lecture for developing their own future careers and consider them relevant to themselves |
| Class 5 | Japan's Nuclear Regulation Policy Focusing on the topic of “nuclear regulation” for the protection of people and the environment, the lecture explains what “regulation” is and how government officials with technical backgrounds are involved in regulatory policyies. |
Students can identify valuable/useful contents from the lecture for developing their own future careers and consider them relevant to themselves |
| Class 6 | Policies addressing climate change Climate change is a challenge for the entire global community that goes beyond a mere environmental issue; it is changing the fundamental structure of society as a whole. To address this challenge, a wide range of policies is needed—from international cooperation to initiatives at the local government level, and from the formulation of national strategies to concrete project-based actions. |
Students can identify valuable/useful contents from the lecture for developing their own future careers and consider them relevant to themselves |
| Class 7 | (Groupwork) Policy simulation by government officials with science backgrounds / Wrap-up Students will divide into groups to develop policy proposals on a given topic and then present their results. |
Students can identify valuable/useful contents from the lecture for developing their own future careers and consider them relevant to themselves |
Study advice (preparation and review)
To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend approximately 100 minutes preparing for class and another 100 minutes reviewing class content afterwards (including assignments) for each class.
They should do so by referring to textbooks and other course material.
Textbook(s)
No textbook. In principle, lecture materials prepared by the lecturers will be uploaded to Science Tokyo LMS in advance of each lecture.
Reference books, course materials, etc.
Instructions will be given during the class when necessary.
Evaluation methods and criteria
As an assignment is given in each lecture, students are required to write and submit a report on it. The reports submitted by the due date by students who have attended the lecuture will be evaluated with the same weight for each lecture on how deeply they consider the assignment and how well they describe the results of their consideration.
Using generative AI is not allowed for creating reports.
Related courses
- ENT.C401(LAC.M401) ： Master's Career Development Basics
- ENT.C413(LAC.M413) ： Master's Career Design Practice
- ENT.C527(LAC.M527) ： Master's Social and Business Rules and Ethics
Prerequisites
Lectures are delivered in Japanese, so students should have Japanese language skills enough to understand the content of the lectures.
Reports are accepted in either Japanese or English.
Other
The corresponding GA（Graduate Attributes） for this course is GA1M.
For inquiries regarding Entrepreneurship Courses (for students enrolled in or after AY2024) ,and Career Development Courses (for students enrolled in or before AY2023), please contact us at: Center for Entrepreneurship Education (CEE) (e-mail: info@cee.isct.ac.jp )