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
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - Class
- -
- Course Code
- ENT.C551
- Number of credits
- 100
- Course offered
- 2026
- Offered quarter
- 3Q
- Syllabus updated
- Mar 5, 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 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 some aspect. Therefore, understanding these public policies—from their formulation to implementation, including the issues involved —is highly beneficial for career development. This applies not only to students aspiring to become central government officials but also to those entering university/research institutions or private companies after graduation.
Furthermore, understanding the job responsibilities, career paths, and motivations for science-backgrounded central government officials who manage policies not only broadens future career options but also enables deeper consideration of future career development by comparing these perspectives with students' own career aspirations.
With close cooperation of multiple central government ministries and agencies, this course 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.
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 a government official.
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).
The following class schedule is tentative. The syllabus will be updated after specific public policies and the government ministries and agencies giving lectures are confirmed.
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 (tentative) |
Students can identify valuable/useful contents from the lecture for developing their own future careers and consider them relevant to themselves. |
| Class 2 | Realities of energy policy (tentative) |
Students can identify valuable/useful contents from the lecture for developing their own future careers and consider them relevant to themselves |
| Class 3 | Infrastructure supporting our lives and the Economy (tentative) |
Students can identify valuable/useful contents from the lecture for developing their own future careers and consider them relevant to themselves |
| Class 4 | Investment in science, technology, and academia (tentative) |
Students can identify valuable/useful contents from the lecture for developing their own future careers and consider them relevant to themselves |
| Class 5 | Building a sustainable society (tentative) |
Students can identify valuable/useful contents from the lecture for developing their own future careers and consider them relevant to themselves |
| Class 6 | Protecting people and the environment through regulation (tentative) |
Students can identify valuable/useful contents from the lecture for developing their own future careers and consider them relevant to themselves |
| Class 7 | (Workshop) Policy simulation by government officials with science backgrounds / Wrap-up |
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
An assignment is given in each lecture and the students are required to attend it, and write and submit a report on it. The reports submitted by the due date 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.
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.
For assignment reports, both English and Japanese are acceptable.
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 )