Ken Ruoff receives prestigious grant from International Research Center for Japanese Studies

Professor Ken Ruoff, Professor at Portland State University (PSU), giving a lecture at the Hokkaido Summer Institute (Photo: Aprilia Agatha Gunawan)

Dr. Ken Ruoff, Professor at Portland State University (PSU), has received an invitation from the International Research Center for Japanese Studies (Nichibunken) to lead a team research project studying the Far Right in Postwar Japan in a Global Context. He has been a Hokkaido University Global PR Ambassador (HUPRA) since March this year.

The team comprises of experts on Japan as well as Japanese experts on the far right in the United States, Europe and India. The development of the grant proposal was supported by PSU, as well as the network cultivated by PSU’s Center for Japanese Studies, of which Professor Ruoff is Director.

Professor Ruoff’s relationship with Hokkaido University dates back to 1994, when he joined the Faculty of Law as an associate researcher, and then lecturer from 1995-1996. Most of the research for his first book, The People’s Emperor: Democracy and the Japanese Monarchy, 1945-1995 — which in translation was awarded the Osaragi Jiro prize for Commentary in 2004 — was carried out during his time at Hokkaido University. The Osaragi Jiro Prize for Commentary recognizes outstanding essays on Japanese politics, economics, society, culture and international relations. He was appointed Hokkaido University Ambassador in 2019. He has also taught the course National Heritage Tourism – The Case of Hokkaido at the Hokkaido Summer Institute.