There is an old Roman maxim which states that the law is established for the benefit of men（hominum causa jus constitutum est）. This means that the value of law exists in how it allows people to lead better lives and improves the society in which people live. If the meaning sounds vague, imagine your immediate surroundings first, then slowly broaden the scope of your imagination. When people meet and do something together (e.g., one’s family and school), a society is formed. In your family or at your school, you must have gone through hardships to find a compromise to competing interests and values and reach an agreement. Everyone has had such experiences. At the level of a nation, although social issues in a country may seem abstract, the essence is exactly the same. The purpose of studying at the College of Law and Politics is to develop the abilities to utilize law in order to peacefully resolve issues where people’s contradictory interests and values collide, and to help build a society in which people can live together harmoniously. To develop these abilities, one must not merely study and master knowledge of existing laws and social, political and economic systems, but also learn to utilize the knowledge and skills developed by our predecessors to carve out new paths for the future. Legal and political studies offer methodologies to cultivate new potential for a society and to enable people to coexist based on a mutual respect for diverse values. Through studying at Rikkyo University’s College of Law and Politics, I promise that you will gain knowledge and reasoning skills that will serve you in good stead for the rest of your life, presenting wisdom for you to build a better future.

Hisashi Harada, Dean, College of Law and Politics