Kei Hiruta is Research Fellow in philosophy at the University of Oxford; Junior Research Fellow at Wolfson College, Oxford; and (non-residential) Carnegie-Uehiro Fellow and Global Ethics Fellow at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs. His research mainly lies at the intersection of political philosophy and intellectual history, with particular interest in the idea of freedom and its history.
Hiruta also writes about contemporary political issues from a normative theoretical angle and is an associate editor of the Journal of Practical Ethics. He received his D.Phil. in political theory from the University of Oxford and has held visiting research positions at Columbia University and the University of Tokyo.
Featured Work
JAN 12, 2016 • Article
The Death of a Pacifist?: On Akiyuki Nosaka's Death
The Japanese writer Akiyuki Nosaka died last month. He is best known, internationally, for his semi-autobiographical novel "A Grave of Fireflies," made famous by Studio ...
AUG 22, 2014 • Article
Policy Innovations Digital Magazine (2006-2016): Commentary: A Storm in a Bucket: Lessons from the Ice Bucket Challenge Controversy
Fun-based activism such as the Ice Bucket Challenge does not persuade you; it mobilizes you. That's why it's been so successful.
DEC 4, 2013 • Article
A Sick Asian Man Goes to Multicultural Europe: A Tale of Modern Citizenship in Transition
A parable for our times? "As the debate over multiculturalism continues, the societies to which the adjective is applied change in complex ways, as I ...
JUL 11, 2013 • Article
Book Review: Political Philosophy in the Twentieth Century: Authors and Arguments
This collection of essays edited by Catherine Zuckert provides an overview of the work and lives of 18 thinkers who made significant contributions to the development ...
AUG 30, 2012 • Article
Home Alone?
What is it like to be liberal in East Asia? Is liberalism a specifically Western ideology, or does it embody universal norms? The old dispute ...
MAY 27, 2011 • Article
Policy Innovations Digital Magazine (2006-2016): Briefings: The Art of Inconclusiveness
The new film ANPO: Art X War tells the story of U.S.-Japan relations through the lives of artists who were influenced by the 1960...
APR 8, 2010 • Article
Policy Innovations Digital Magazine (2006-2016): Commentary: Rage against Virtual Rape
It is up to the Japanese to decide what regulations the nation wants to prescribe for sex industry software.