Personal Information
Current Position
Professor, Constitutional Law and Politics, Faculty of Law, Aichi University, Nagoya, Japan (2023-)
JSPS Research Chair (almost equivalent to SSHRC or Canada Research Chair) in the study of the public inquiry system from a Comparative Perspective (2020-2025), Government of Japan
Board of Directors, Japanese Association for Canadian Studies, Japan (2017- )
Previously
Visiting Scholar, University of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada (August 2023-June 2024)
Associate Professor of Law and Politics, Faculty of Law, Aichi University, Nagoya, Japan (2016-2023)
Assistant Professor at Kanagawa Prefectural Institute of International Language and Culture Studies, Yokohama, Japan (2012-16)
Researcher and Consul at the Consulate General Office of Japan in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (2009-12)
JSPS Research Fellow, Japanese Society of Promotion of Science, Tokyo, Japan (2007-09)
Visiting Researcher, the Munk Institute for International Studies, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada (2007-08)
Visiting Graduate Student, Department of Political Science, University of British Columbia, Canada (2005-06)
Education and Degrees
LL.M. Graduate School for Law and Politics, University of Tokyo, Japan
LL.B. Department of Law, University of Tokyo, Japan
UniversityHill Secondary School, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Academic Background
Area & Regional Studies about Canada
Comparative Politics ( Developed, Canada and Japan)
Constitutional Law
Research Interests and topics
the history and the politics of the Canadian Social Democracy in the Prairies, Saskatchewan, and Canada
the establishment and the use of public inquiries in Canada and Japan
Comparative Constitutional Monarchy in Canada and Japan
Tradition of the Canadian "Political Economy" School and their thought, their impact on Canadian Politics
Foreign ( temporary) workers in Japan
Recent Selected Publications in Japanese and English
2024 (In English) Is Constitutional Monarchy a Friend or Foe of Democracy? A Comparative Institutional Analysis of Canada and Japan, The Journal of the Faculty of Law, Aichi University, Volume 241, 1-41.
2022 Representation, Research, and Participation in Canadian Policy Advocacy Research Commissions: A Case Study of the “Royal Commission on Dominion-Provincial Relations (1937-1940)” The Journal of the Faculty of Law, Aichi University, Volume 233, 1-30.
2022 The Resignation of Canada’s Governor General and Its Impact on Canadian Politics: A Study on the Canadian Constitutional Monarchy. The Journal of the Faculty of Law, Aichi University, Volume 230, 1-28.
2021 The Role of Canada' Constitutional Monarchy in the Formation of Government in a Hung Parliament: Case Study of a Recent Election in Canada. The Annual Review of Canadian Studies, Vol 41, 20-36. Peer Reviewed
2020 Canada’s Dissolution Rights in the House of Commons: Between Federalism and Constitutional Monarchy. The Journal of Economic Policy Institute for Quality Life, No.280,16-20.
2015 Social Learning and Political Participation through Public Hearings: A Case Study of the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry, The Annual Review of Canadian Studies, Vol 35, 21-38. Peer Reviewed
2015 A Study on the Canadian Political Unity and the Substantial Role of the Constitutional Monarchy System in Canada from the Current Canadian Political & Social Context, Bulletin of Kanagawa Prefectural Institute of Language and Culture Studies, Vol 4, 19-31.
2014 The Substantial Political Role of the Governor-General of Canada from the Current Canadian Political Context, Bulletin of Kanagawa Prefectural Institute of Language and Culture Studies, Vol 3, 45-54.
2013 The Rise of Neo-Conservatism in Canadian Politics: From “Red Tory” to the New Conservative Party, Bulletin of Kanagawa Prefectural Institute of Language and Culture Studies, Vol 2, 33-47.
Recent Selected Presentations in Japanese and English
2024 Comparative Institutional Analysis of Constitutional Monarchy in Canada and Japan: Advocate of Democracy or Detriment to Democracy? Kentaro OKADA, Canadian Political Science Association Annual Conference, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (in English)
2024 Comparative Analysis of Royal Commission/Public Inquiry Systems: Lessons from Canada for Japan, Kentaro OKADA, Visiting Faculty Member Presentation, Hill and Levene School of Business, University of Regina, Canada (in English)
2023 The Appeal of Canada in Travel Media for Women: Focusing on the “Rurubu Canada” Series. Shinsuke IWATA & Kentaro OKADA, Japanese Studies Association of Canada, Annual Conference, University of Saskatchewan, Canada (in English)
2019 New Developments in Canadian Provincial Politics and the Changing Role of Lieutenant Governors. The 44th Annual Conference of the Japanese Association for Canadian Studies, September 8, 2019, Kagoshima Immaculate Heart University, Japan (in Japanese)
2018 Political Participation of Foreign Citizens in Japan: A Case Study of “Foreign Citizens Meeting / Assembly” in Local Governments, at the Panel Session of “How do Contemporary Governments Manage New and Old Social Problems? Cases of Central and Local Governments in Japan”,25th International Political Science Association Annual Conference, the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, Brisbane, Australia (in English)
2015 Deliberative Democracies and Public Participation in Canada and Japan: in the Comparative Perspective, Japanese Studies Association of Canada Annual Conference, Embassy of Canada in Tokyo, Japan (in English)
2014 Deliberative Democracy and Citizen Participation in Canadian Political Context: A Case Study of The British Columbia Citizens Assembly on Electoral Reform, The 40th Annual Conference of the Japanese Association for Canadian Studies, September 10, Kwansei Gakuin University, Japan (in Japanese)
2010 Political Innovation by Canadian Royal Commissions: Political Participation, Democracy and Institutional Conversion, The 35th Annual Conference of the Japanese Association for Canadian Studies, September 23, Aoyama Gakuin University, Japan (in Japanese)
2007 Canada’s New Democratic Party and the Waffle Movement in the 1960’s: In search of the Canada’s own Socialism, The 32nd Annual Conference of the Japanese Association for Canadian Studies, September 20, Reitaku University, Japan, (in Japanese)
Selected Research Grants
2023-2024 Aichi University One-Year Sabbatical Research Grant
2020-2025 Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (Equivalent to SSHRC)
2013-2016 Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (Equivalent to SSHRC)
2006-2008 Grant-in-Aid for JSPS Fellows, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (Equivalent to SSHRC)