The Disciplines of Humanity's Future Sustainable Development

The Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, and Science and

Technology (MEXT) implemented the Top Global University Project

(TGU) in 2014 to prioritize support to the universities actively promoting

internationalization1. Waseda University was selected to be a part of this

project.

The Global Asia Research Center (GARC) is one of the centers responsible

for world-class education and research at Waseda University, under the

framework of the TGU2. The purpose of the GARC is to study historical

reconciliation and sustainable development from an interdisciplinary

perspective, and to disseminate the outcomes globally. The Sustainable

Development Goals (SDGs), adopted at the United Nations Sustainable

Development Summit in September 2015, are global development goals. One

of the objectives of the TGU is to achieve the SDGs.

Reconciling history and promoting sustainable future development in East

Asia present significant challenges. In pursuing reconciliation in East Asia, a

critical re-examination of Japan's war responsibility and colonialism is

necessary. In Europe, war and colonial responsibilities have been discussed

separately. While advances have been made on the question of war

responsibility, the debate over the legacy of colonialism has only recently

begun. Promoting sustainable development and reaching a regional agreement

on a common goal appears to be more challenging for the nations of

East Asia, where there are greater differences in religion, culture, economic

development, political systems, and other aspects when compared to Europe.

Studies to overcome these challenges should be conducted from an

interdisciplinary perspective, incorporating multiple disciplines. The GARC

brings together researchers from various specialized fields such as history,

development studies, economics, sociology, international relations, international

law, regional studies, peace studies, conflict resolution, political science,

urban and rural planning, business administration, and management

engineering. At the GARC, a diverse group of researchers is pursuing

interdisciplinary research by building on their disciplines through innovative

approaches.