Major Field of Study Subject Subject in Charge Public Finance & Monetary Economics Studies in Public Finance Yoshihiro Nakamura While systematically explaining the fundamentals of taxation theory, we will examine the current status and matters of reform in the Japanese tax system, at a time when genuine tax increases seem to be approaching. In order to understand the influence of globalization on trends in the Japanese tax system, one must pay attention to the international trends of tax reform while considering the fundamentals of conventional theories of taxation. To assist our understanding, we will also outline some of the recent tax reforms occurring in Europe and America. The first half of the course will focus on examining the fundamental theories of taxation, and the second half will involve discussion of domestic and foreign tax policies and problems, as well as the nature of reform in these tax policies.