Hans H. Baerwald

Terasaki Center For Japanese Studies

Established in 1991, the UCLA Terasaki Center has been a platform for research on Japan. Our distinguished faculty, students, postdoctoral fellows, visiting scholars, and the board of advisors have been contributing to the field of Japanese studies for over 20 years.

Faculty Board of Advisors Chair in US-Japan Relations Postdoctoral Fellows Alumni

Students Visitors Staff Supporters Dr. Paul I. Terasaki

The Terasaki Center sponsors a vast array of events throughout the year. With its colloquium series, the Center brings academics from diverse fields to UCLA each year. Special workshops and annual conferences bring leading scholars to discuss topics relating to Japan.

Center News Annual Newsletter

Center Events Community Events Past Events

The Center is proud to support our faculty, current and prospective students, and the local community through a variety of grants and fellowships.

Internal Funding
Learn more and apply for Center funding here.

External Funding
Funding sources in this section are not administered by the Center.

Center programs were established with strong support from the local community to promote research and instruction in Japanese studies, with a recent focus on the profound transformations unfolding in contemporary Japanese society.

UCLA Japanese Studies
Programs by Faculty and Students

Global Japan Initiative
Understanding Japan/Japanese culture within a global context.

The Terasaki Center is actively expanding support for faculty and graduate students, building relationships with other universities as well as Japan and Japanese Studies related organizations, and enhancing its role in the community.

Mission & History
Digital Archive

Global Hub
The Center is dedicated to connecting Japanese communities around the world with those engaged in the study of Japan and the Japanese.

DONATE Your gift can make a difference to Japanese studies at UCLA!

global japan initiative Understanding Japan/Japanese
culture within a global context

Hans H. Baerwald

Professor Emeritus and scholar of Japanese politics

Hans H. Baerwald was a professor in the Political Science Department at UCLA as well as an internationally renowned scholar of Japanese politics.

Born in Tokyo to a German businessman and his wife on June 18, 1927, Baerwald began a lifelong connection with Japan during his childhood, when he became fluent in Japanese while attending the American School in Japan. In 1940 the family immigrated to Berkeley, CA, He enrolled at UC Berkeley but left when he was drafted into the U.S. Army, where he was posted to Government Section in Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s headquarters in Tokyo during the American occupation of Japan, participating in the political purge of Japanese leaders. He later wrote extensively about this tumultuous period.

After resuming his studies at UC Berkeley, he went on to receive his doctorate in political science, with a focus on Japan. He joined UCLA’s Department of Political Science in 1962. Among his many accomplishments, he directed UCLA’s Education Abroad Program Study Center in Tokyo.

He was a generous benefactor to the university, making donations to the political science department and many other campus areas. His gift to the UCLA Terasaki Center for Japanese Studies established the Hans H. Baerwald Graduate Fellowship, which supports graduate students at UCLA who are studying in the Japanese Studies field.