Japan

This data science course introduces essential techniques and tools used in Data Science. Each week the course covers a unique topic, starting from the very basics of the Data Science pipeline to advanced topics like Neural Networks and Time-Series Analysis, all explained using a sophisticated slides and easy-to-understand Python codes.
 

For this semester, the course will use a single comprehensive dataset that could cover all of the topics, to make it easier for students to understand the concepts of data science, without spending too much time understanding the dataset.
 

By the end of this course, students are expected to:

1.  Understand the Data Science Pipeline.
2. Apply various machine learning techniques.
3. Evaluate model performance and fine-tune hyperparameters.
4. Understand and apply Neural Networks, Text Mining, and Time-Series Analysis.
5. Translate theory into practice using Python.

By the completion oft his course, students are expected to read, write and type 160 basic kanji characters. They will become familiar with the basic methods of kanji learning and expand their vocabulary of words that contain kanji.  

Eligibility: Those who are learning kanji for the first time and are currently taking a C1 class or have Japanese proficiency of C1 class or above. 

Learning Objectives:

• Learn the meanings and readings of 160 kanji and words using those kanji. 
• Write the 160 kanji vocabulary words with the help of example models.
• Type short sentences containing the 160 kanji on a smartphone or PC. 

This course introduces political philosophy. It covers the main concepts, issues, and questions raised in political philosophy, to acquire a general and analytic understanding of the central topics in political philosophy.

This course includes critical and sociological considerations on various social problems related to contemporary families in Japan. 

It is sometimes difficult to discuss or even think about marriage and family because it is too close, too natural or too emotional. This course aims at acquiring basic skills and knowledge to discuss family issues through lectures and group discussions in class.

Relatively new approaches and concepts including modern family, gender studies, queer theories and dependency theories are expounded to address controversial family problems such as Konkatsu (spouse hunting), Ikumen (active fathering) and Shoushi-ka (fertility crisis), etc.

How can Japanese culture be better known across the world? This simple question lies at the heart of many Japanese governmental policies, local revitalization efforts, tourism initiatives, and artistic projects. In particular, the goal of preserving Japanese traditions through global transmission — and to encourage other nations to similarly preserve their own traditions — often guides foreign policy discussions. But why is this goal so prevalent today, and what ways of thinking about culture does it encourage? Who decides what is defined as ‘Japanese culture’, or which traditions should be transmitted? This course discusses common understandings (and countercultural re-imaginings) of tradition in contemporary Japanese culture. The course explores media texts that both decry and extol the potential for global exchange to alter tradition and classes focus particularly on the political implications of rhetoric used to talk about the spread of culture today. Through class discussion and independent projects, the course re-thinks common ideas about culture and its global spread.

This course approaches human rights from the perspective of peace. After an introduction, it examines peace and human rights from both theoretical and practical perspectives. 

The course covers the following topics:

• What is Peace?
• What is Human Rights?
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Law
• United Nations and Human Rights
• "Responsibility to Protect"
• Gender, Peace and Human Rights
• Statelessness
• Human Rights in Japan
• Post-Anthropocene Perspectives of Peace and Human Rights: Rights of Nature?
• Why Peace? Why Human Rights?

This course provides conceptual frameworks that students may find useful in analyzing various types of peace initiatives including humanitarian assistance. Students examine a wide range of debates about peacebuilding and humanitarian intervention, and analyze a variety of intermediary efforts by the UN, NGOs and other relevant institutions. This course is offered in collaboration with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Japan--a humanitarian organization working in conflict zones. Humanitarian experts from the MSF will share their practical and hands-on experience in the field of peacebuilding and humanitarian aid, while the professor will offer theoretical discussions relevant to the theme and lead group work and simulation exercises, which aim to facilitate students' understanding of the topics introduced by the MSF experts.

This course examines the significance and issues of gender differences, sexuality in society from the perspective of human rights theory. It studies the current status and issues of gender equality in Japan and discusses gender issues in terms of politics,  employment, family, health, and academia.

This course consists of three parts. First, it studies the economics of financial markets, with a particular emphasis on interest rates. The second part concerns financial institutions, necessary players for the proper functioning of financial markets. Important topics in this part are (a) asymmetric information problems in financial markets; (b) risk management in banking, and (c) financial crises. The third and last part covers central banks and monetary policy. Understanding monetary policy is important, given its substantial influence on financial markets and overall economic activities.

This course covers of the fundamentals of heat and mass transport phenomena, which is useful to several engineering designs. The course studies the basic concept of heat transfer, including conduction, convection and radiation. Then it addresses the applications of the concept to industrial designs, such as heat exchanger, boiler and condenser.