It is with great sorrow that the United Nations University (UNU) has learned of the death of Prof. Kinhide Mushakoji, a former UNU Vice-Rector. Born in Brussels, Belgium, in 1929, Prof. Mushakoji passed away on 23 May 2022 at the age of 92.
Prof. Mushakoji specialised in international politics, international relations, and peace research, and throughout his career was active in the promotion of human rights and anti-discrimination. He joined UNU in the University’s first full year of operation, serving first as Vice-Rector of the Human and Social Development Programme (1976–1982) and then as Vice-Rector of the Regional and Global Studies Division (1982–1989).
A graduate of the Political Science Department of Gakushuin University (Tokyo), Prof. Mushakoji also studied abroad at the Institut des Sciences Politiques, University of Paris. He began his academic career at Gakushuin University, serving from 1956 to 1968 as a Research Assistant, Lecturer, Assistant Professor, and Professor. During that time, he was also appointed as a Rockefeller Fellow at Princeton University (1961–1962) and a Visiting Professor at Northwestern University (1965).
From 1968 to 1976, he served as a Professor at Sophia University (Tokyo), where he also was Director of the university’s Institute of International Relations, an institute that he founded in 1969. While with Sophia University, he also served as a Senior Specialist with the East-West Center (Hawaii, 1968) and as a consultant with the Geneva-based Commission on Society, Development, and Peace (1971–1972).
Upon leaving UNU after 13 years of service, Prof. Mushakoji served as a Professor at Meiji-Gakuin University (1989–1998), Ferris University Japan (1998‒2000), and Chubu University and Chubu Institute of Advanced Studies (2001–2004). From 2013 until his retirement, he was Professor by special appointment with the Osaka University of Economics and Law.
Other roles held by Prof. Mushakoji during his long and distinguished career included President of the International Political Science Association; Vice-President (and later, Honorary Chairman) of the International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR); Chair of the Asia-Pacific Human Rights Information Centre (Hu-Rights Osaka); and President of Osaka International Peace Centre (Peace Osaka).
Prof. Mushakoji was also a member of the Executive Board of the Japanese Political Science Association, the Japanese Association of International Relations, the Japanese Peace Studies Association, and the International Peace Research Association.
