About Us
Our Aims
Founded in 1980, the Institute for Social Ethics seeks to analyze social problems from a standpoint consistent with ethical values in general and Christian principles in particular. Inspired by the University Motto "Humanis Dignitati" (for human dignity), the Institute aims to bring about a greater awareness of human ethical values in the social sciences and in the approach to social problems in general. The Institute, taking a comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach to understanding social issues, also seeks to raise the questions of fundamental values and clarifies these as issues in ethical choices. By drawing its ethical perspective both from Christian teaching and tradition (in particular, from Japanese tradition and experience), the Institute takes an approach to ethics that is both Christian and dialogical in understanding and analyzing the realities and problems of contemporary society.
People
At present the Institute has 3 full-time senior research fellows in different fields of academic expertise, such as philosophy, politics and law. There are associate researchers from within and outside the University. Aside from individual research, the Institute has developed a long tradition of collaborative research projects and academic discourses with other domestic and international scholars and institutions as well.
Facilities
The Institute has its own library, separated from the University main library. The library has around 21,000 books: 8,500 in Japanese and 12,500 in English and other foreign languages. In addition, there is a collection of 3,850 volumes of important literature on ethical issues related to social science and 7,491 volumes on Catholic social ethics, both of which were respectively donated by Professor Shoji Matsuyama and Professor Akira Mizunami. The faculty members, students and the public, including visitors, are welcome to visit and to borrow books from the library.
Visiting Scholars
We welcome both domestic and international visiting scholars to join our research projects or to use the Institute as a base for their research in and about Japan.
