Japan

This lecture looks at the Japanese society in the 19th century and focuses on social groups formed at the time, and through this, attempts to analyze the society we live in today. By looking back on history, and how individuals came together to form a society, this class aims to get a better understanding of the current world.

Since the 1970s, many countries have been democratized across the world, in Southern Europe (Spain, Portugal, and Greece), Latin America (Brazil and Chile), East Asia (Korea, Taiwan), Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, Africa (South Africa), and Middle East (Tunisia). Why does the democratization occur in some countries but not in others? Why does the democratic regime survive after democratization in some countries but not in others? In order to answer these questions, this course explores the determinants of democratization and democratic survival, based on the major theoretical arguments and empirical findings in comparative politics. The course covers both classic and cutting-edge works in the literature. The course is divided into three parts. The first part explores the determinants of democratization (transition from authoritarian regime to democracy). The second part examines the determinants of democratic survival (whether democracy collapses or not after democratization). The third part is for the student presentations, in which students are required to make a group presentation on the case(s) of democratization or democratic survival/collapse of their choice. Assessment: exam, participation, group presentation.

Level 5 Japanese, equivalent to JLPK N1. This course teaches skills needed to read academic texts, write reports, listen to lectures, and make presentations. - Understand the primary conclusions of texts containing clear points of view. - Can write clear, detailed texts on a variety of subjects, synthesizing and evaluating information and arguments from a number of sources. - Understand standard spoken language, live or broadcast, on current topics and articulate one's point of view. Give clear, systematic presentations, while adding relevant details.

This course aims at providing a foundation of knowledge on probability theory for advanced undergraduate students or first-year graduate students who have studied introductory statistics. The course covers basic concepts in probability theory such as conditional probabilities, random variables, probability distributions and expectation in a mathematically rigorous fashion. This course also offers students an opportunity to learn Python programming for statistical inference and Monte Carlo simulation. It is preferable for students to install Anaconda (https://www.anaconda.com) on their laptop computers and bring them to the classroom.

What are the most pressing security issues in the first half of the 21st century? What are the main active conflicts and how do they impact the global security agenda? What are the main drivers of these conflicts? Are these conflicts new? What is the prevailing understanding of security in global studies? What is the role of different actors in the definition and implementation of global security strategies? This course seeks three complementary goals: first, it presents the main notions and theoretical approaches to the study of contemporary security and conflict; second, it analyses the evolution of contemporary conflict, as well as the transformation of conventional and non-conventional challenges to global security; third, it explores some conflicts and security challenges particularly relevant for the understanding of contemporary security and, more broadly, global international relations.

This course is for students with little or no Japanese language. The course includes the skills of speaking, listening, reading, and writing using them in practical situations. The purpose is to equip the learner with the ability to be able to use Japanese outside of the classroom as soon as possible. Topics: how to introduce yourself and ask some questions to a person you have met for the first time such as what his/her name is, where he/she is from and what his/her interests are; ask about where a building is in the university; order food from the cafeteria; talk about when, where,what you do on a typical day; ask what someone did on the weekend; invite your friend to go sightseeing in the city.

This class argues how norms and rules as well as power shape states' behavior and eventually form global governance, or international order. In order to facilitate the understanding of a concept of global governance, nuclear governance is taken up as a case. Nuclear technology greatly affect the state of international affairs in many ways, both in positive and negative ways, ranging from nuclear deterrence to nuclear energy. Because of dual use nature of the technology, the international community has faced the difficulty in meeting various needs in managing nuclear technology. This class facilitates the understanding of how the international community has dealt with this task.

This course teaches grammar and vocabulary needed to read articles and essays on familiar topics of interest and write reports on them, attend classes, and express their own opinions, toward mastering the Japanese reading and writing skills that lead from intermediate to upper-intermediate level.

The course discusses national and international politics with regard to conservation and management of marine living resources. After presenting the theories of commons as well as the relationship between science and politics on the management of natural resources, the course assesses the effectiveness of national and international institution through case studies on some marine living resources including whales, tuna, and eels.