Meiji Gakuin University

The course provides an overview of the Chinese economy: Chinese economic history; the rise of the Chinese private sector; pressing economic issues; the financial system, and economic relationships with other countries in the globalized economy. etc. The course consists of lectures, interactive discussion, real case studies, and presentations. 

Combining images, words/texts, audio, infographics, and art works, this course instructs on how to create short films/documentaries, photo-stories/essays, sound slides, and multimedia research/contents. An overview of the theories, principles and practices related to visual media methods is provided. Furthermore, the course provides exposure to basic scriptwriting, interviewing, photo and video editing, subtitling, photo/video journaling, typography, page and poster designing. Data citation and ethics in media production are also addressed. 

This course reviews the fundamental theories and contemporary practices of innovation and entrepreneurship, with students learning how to identify innovation and entrepreneurship opportunities; how to develop a business plan, how to acquire resources for their ventures and create and capture value from the ventures.

This course is designed for students with advanced proficiency to improve their reading and writing skills. Students learn the appropriate writing style for the person, situation, purpose, and content. Students will be expected to read and write about topics that interest them, as well as give presentations on books, tourist spots, everyday items, etc. that they recommend.

This course must be taken simultaneously with CONTEMPORARY JAPANESE ECONOMY A. The course addresses important economic problems that emerged in Japan within the last few decades and aims to deepen understanding of contemporary Japanese economy and its relations to the world economy. It covers the following topics: the Bubble Economy in the 1980s, Recovery in the 2000s, Aging society, Social security, etc.

This course is designed for beginners who have learned hiragana, katakana, and basic Japanese grammar. The purpose is to acquire upper-level basic grammar, vocabulary, and kanji so that students will be able to express themselves in both spoken and written forms to communicate effectively in ordinary life. Students will receive integrated training in reading, writing, listening, and speaking.

This course introduces Japan’s global political and security role, starting with the pre-1945 and Cold War era legacies, and then focuses on the Post-Cold-War era. It examines Japan’s shift from security isolationism during the Cold War to security engagement, its championing of regional multilateralism in East Asia, its emergence as a global power in development aid, its contributions to UN peacekeeping and non-traditional security in areas such as humanitarian and disaster relief (HaDR), counter-piracy, maritime security, and counter-pandemic measures. It focuses on Japan’s relationships with the US, China, Korea, ASEAN, and Europe, and considers how Japan’s foreign policy institutions, including those making security and development aid policy, have changed during the Abe administration. The course concludes with a summary looking at Japan’s trajectory as a middle power.

This is a listening and speaking course featuring replication of daily social interactions and listening comprehension. The course revolves on discussion topics such as self-introduction; asking questions; spring events; weekend plans; role playing; speech preparation; skits, etc. 

This course explores how labor markets work and analyzes a wide range of labor issues within Japanese and US economies. Each class begins with the theoretical background of labor economics, then students analyze a related research article to understand how and whether the standard, neo-classical model is applied to real economic life. It is strongly recommended to enroll in this course together with the course, LABOR ECONOMICS AND PUBLIC POLICY B.

The purpose of this course is to give students the ability to communicate in Japanese at an advanced level. The course is designed for students who have completed at least three to four semesters of formal training (no less than 300 hours) at the college level. Students are expected to possess the ability to read and write simple essays and communicate smoothly in everyday situations. Students improve their comprehensive Japanese language skills through discussion with peer students and presentations about Japanese culture and society.  To develop reading and listening comprehension skills, students will read and listen to texts about Japanese culture and society. In addition, students will learn how to communicate and express their opinion in Japanese through presentation, discussion, and writing practices.