Kenneth Mori McElwain is a Professor of Comparative Politics at the Institute of Social Science, University of Tokyo. His research examines comparative institutions, public opinion formation, and Japanese politics, with a particular focus on constitutional design and change. An Irish national raised in Tokyo, he holds a BA in Public and International Affairs from Princeton University and a PhD in Political Science from Stanford University. Before joining the University of Tokyo in 2015, he was Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Michigan.
Dr. McElwain has published widely, with over 50 contributions to journals, edited volumes, and monographs. His recent book, The Universality and Originality of the Japanese Constitution in Quantitative Perspective (Chikura Shobō, 2022), received the 44th Ishibashi Tanzan Award and the 34th Asia-Pacific Award Special Prize.
In addition to his research, he serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Social Science Japan Journal, published by Oxford University Press. He is also a Board Director of the Japanese Political Science Association and has led its collaborative programs with the American Political Science Association since 2023. During the 2024–25 academic year, he is Visiting Professor of Japanese Politics and Foreign Diplomacy at Columbia University.
