Japan’s renowned political scientist Takashi Inoguchi and one of his daughters died in a fire accident at his residence in Tokyo on Wednesday night. He is survived by his wife Liberal Democratic Party Senator Kuniko Inoguchi (72) and another daughter.
Flames and smoke were seen rising from the apartment building on the night of November 27, 2024 in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, about 500 meters north of the Tokyo Dome. Orange flames briefly rose from the scene, and smoke filled the surrounding area.
According to the police and witnesses, the scene of the fire was on the top floor of a six-story apartment building, with only one apartment on the floor. The Fire Service personnel transported one woman’s body to the hospital, believed to be his daughter’s. The fire was extinguished around 12:40 a.m. and rescue vehicles were dispatched to the scene.
Takashi Inoguchi, born January 17, 1944 in Niigata, was a renowned Japanese academic researcher of foreign affairs and international and global relationships of states. After graduating from Niigata High School, he attended the University of Tokyo from 1962 to 1968, obtaining a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts and master’s degree in international relations.
Inoguchi studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1968 to 1974 and obtained a Ph.D. in political science. Following his Ph.D., he taught at Sophia University from 1974 to 1977, and at the University of Tokyo from 1977 onward. He was also at the University of Geneva from 1977 to 1978, and at Harvard University from 1983 to 1984.
Prof Inoguchi also served as Assistant Secretary General at the United Nations University, Tokyo. He was the president of the University of Niigata Prefecture, and a professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo.
A well-known author of several research books in Political science and International Relations, Prof. Inoguchi had remained a key commentator on global politics throughout his academic career. “Depending on where you stand, the political scenario changes,” he used to say to his students and fellow academics to distinguish the non-Western political thought in Asia.