Departures of note

Toshio Kamo was a Japanese political scientist specializing in local government and political process theory. Born in Wakayama Prefecture, he graduated from the law faculty of Osaka City University in 1967 and spent his academic career there, becoming a professor in 1985 after serving as an assistant and associate professor and as a visiting researcher at the City University of New York. He also served as chairman of the Local Government Research Institute and, after retiring from Osaka City University, taught as a professor at the Ritsumeikan University Graduate School of Public Policy. He devoted himself to building networks among Asian cities and continued to advise citizen movements. He wrote numerous books, including 'The Politics of the City' and 'Municipal Mergers and the Future of Local Autonomy'. He died of acute respiratory failure on October 1, 2026, at the age of 81.