Head of the institute: Kumiko Haba, 

A professor of Faculty of Social Sciences, Hosei University

Outline of research fund

European Institute was established as a five-year specific research project at Hosei University Graduate School in 2006. Our research fund totals nearly 7,700,000 yen, comprising a three-year aid of 3,600,000 yen from EU and a four-year fund for scientific research of about 4,100,000 yen from Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). We plan to call for additional supports from MEXT, Japan Foundation, EU and Jean-Monnet Project to add further impetus to the research.

Issues surrounding expanding EU, consisting of ethnicity, immigrants, states, borders, and security, are the major focus of the project. Comparison between EU expansion and East Asian countries’ regional cooperation consists another crucial part of our mission. We hope to cultivate students’ scholarly skills and research activities as well. Our result is to be published as a book in the end of this project.

The project will be conducted intensively for five years, demanding external funds at home, such as Nomura and Toyota , in addition to scientific research funds from MEXT or aids from Japan Foundation.

１．Research on European enlargement and regional integration

European Institute was created to advance multifaceted and comprehensive discussion on the trend of enlargement of Europe where EU membership increased to 25 countries in May 2004.

Director, Prof. Kumiko Haba, a professor of Hosei University , sets focus on enlargement of EU and NATO, covering affairs in Central and Eastern Europe , the Cold War and nationalism. Major concerns in recent years are on International Relations, ethnicity problems, member states and social problems in expanded EU with 25 nations after 2004, while chiefly focusing on moves around boundaries in expanding EU.

Adviser, Prof. Takashi Miyajima  is an eminent sociologist in Japan , and a leading scholar in international sociology. He puts expanding EU, ethnic problems and regional integration into perspective, focusing on minorities, immigrants and citizenships.

Collaborative researchers

Prof. Akira Tokuyasu, Hosei University contributes to the research on expanding EU from a viewpoint of the world system theory and sociology theory.

Prof. Masato Masuda, Hosei University , performs the comparative studies of dollar and euro by contrasting the United States and Europe in terms of international finance.

Prof. Mako Yoshimura, Hosei University , compares EU expansion and Asia’s regional cooperation, in the context of labor flows and international society changes in Asia .

Prof. Chieko Kanbayashi, Hosei University , analyzes western works on immigrant issues. She is an expert of social labor policy, now chiefly concerned with British works on immigrants.

Associate Prof. Shigeki Sato, Hosei University , explores nation-states and ethnic problems in borderland between Germany and Poland , to advance research on minorities in east-and-west boundaries in Europe .

Prof. Nobuo Shimotomai, Hosei University , is a foremost researcher of Russian politics. He has outstanding works on the cold war history of Russia and Asia, and on the diplomatic history of Russia . He considers relationship between Russia and EU.

Prof. Yuji Suzuki, Hosei University , is highly respected for his research on Asia and ASEAN. He held posts of a visiting professor at Johns Hopkins University and the chairman of Peace Studies Association of Japan. He looks into the contrast of international relations of Asia and that of expanding EU.

Visiting researchers

Prof. Susumu Yamauchi, Hitotsubashi University , is the authority of medieval legal history, and the head of the EUIJ in Kanto Area. He provides us with his profound insight into Central European politics from historical perspectives, touching on legislations and politics in Germany and Central/Eastern Europe.

Prof, Soko Tanaka, Chuo University, is the President of European Union Studies Association in Japan, the excellent researcher of European Union’s economics, concentrating the economic development, especially monetary policy and enlargement of the European Union. 

Prof. of Silviu Jora, Kobe University , is the researcher of EU Enlargement, former member of Romanian Foreign Ministry, and concentrating the Balkan and Black See Regional Cooperation and EU’s Neighborhood policy.

The project is awarded 3,600,000 yen from EU for three years and 4,100,000 yen from MEXT’s research fund for four years each from 2006. The fund totals about 7,700,000 yen. Furthermore, the project will obtain funds from MEXT, Japan Foundation, EU, and Jean Monnet Project to see more development. This is a specific institute affiliated to Hosei University Graduate School . We will strive to advance research works in Japan on expanding EU and regional integration, setting Hosei University as the research center to facilitate profound studies on Europe/EU expansion, in collaboration with extramural researchers, calling for transnational networks in EU/European studies.

Study group is due be held monthly on 3rd or 4th Saturday afternoons.

We sincerely welcome active participations from all who have interest.

Graduate students will take vitalizing role as well.

2. Areas, states and citizenships of Enlarging EU, lessons learnt by EU, and East Asia

European Institute so far has three projects as follows.

Provisional project leaders are denoted by asterisk.

1. Minorities and citizens/citizenships of EU

Takashi Miyajima*, Kumiko Haba, Shigeki Sato

2. Expanding EU and new member states: Democratization, nationalism

Kumiko Haba*, Akio Komorida, Nobuo Shimotomai

3. Regional cooperation of East and Southeast Asia

Yuji Suzuki*, Mako Yoshimura, Junichi Shibuya

Asian society is changing under the phenomena of post cold war and post communism. We hope to find new direction for Asia by examining EU as a model. Increased diversity of EU, as an organization, after adding Central and Eastern Europe ; systemic transformation in Post Communism society; "Europeanization"; and problems of nationalism, are key issues in the project.

1 and 2 comprise project backbones. Comparative studies on Europe and East Asia (Nr. 3) will add values on the basic works. Study groups are open to everyone. We especially welcome graduate students.

Past activities

2005.12. Lecture by Austrian Ambassador to Japan on “European enlargement and Austria ”

2006.3. We will organize: lectures by senators of European Commission or European Parliament on their visits to Japan ; briefing sessions on relationships between EU and member/non-member states. If possible, we will obtain additional research funds from MEXT in 2007, and arrange field trips to enhance our studies.

This project also advances research on "Regional cooperation in East Asia , seen from comparison with expanding EU". Our ultimate goal is to pose new and original view in on-going discussion over “East Asian Union” concept, by comparing EU expansion to burning issues of Asia, such as regional cooperation in Asian countries including ESAEN, China or Korea; ethnicities, nation states and immigrants; social and systemic changes under globalization; possibilities for regional integration. Hand in hand with extramural experts in East Asian studies as well, we carry out in-depth analysis.

Goals above are the purposes of establishing “European Institute”, as an affiliated institute of Hosei University Graduate School . Hosei University aims to become a research center disseminating views to the world on “comprehensive studies of regional integration via EU expansion.” Toward this goal, we will strive to raise the level of discussion on European enlargement and regional integration in Japan by collaborating with institutes beyond borders. We work with University of Tokyo, Hitotsubashi University, Keio University, Waseda University, Kyoto University in Japan, with LSE (Britain), UCLA (USA), IRICE (France), CEPS (Belgium), MTA (Hungary), Institute of Complex Social Researches at St. Petersburg State University (Russia) from overseas, and with outstanding individuals around the world. Moreover on any given occasions, we are keen to invite guests from institutes at home and abroad, as well as sharing the opportunities with graduate students regularly thereby raising the basic level of European studies and regional integration research.

Office E-mail: info-s@iea.att.ne.jp