Meiji Gakuin University

Social entrepreneurship pertains to establishing enterprises with the primary purpose of finding a solution to a social problem or creating social value by reaching out to underserved sections of society. This course introduces students to the concept, theories, and real cases of social enterprises. Through real-world examples and case study analysis, students will learn how such enterprises are organized, what their challenges are, and how exactly they try to solve social problems.

This course will be conducted with a combination of lectures and case discussions. Students are required to purchase and read the assigned cases before the course begins. Links to case studies will be given in class.

This is a special studies course with projects arranged between the student and faculty member. The specific topics of study vary each term and are described on a special study project form for each student. The number of units varies with the student's project, contact hours, and method of assessment, as defined on the student's special study project form.

This course introduces Japan’s global political and security role, starting with pre-1945 and Cold War era legacies and then 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, and 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. This course 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.

Demons, ghosts, and monsters have populated the cultural landscape in Japan for centuries. Appearing in anime, manga, games, and movies, mysterious creatures continue to form the core of contemporary popular culture, sparking a global obsession with Japanese monsters. This course explores the cultural history of the strange and supernatural in Japanese literary, visual, and performing arts. Engaging with primary and critical sources from the eighth century to the present, it considers the social roles that representations of “the weird” have played in Japan.

This course is designed for beginners of Japanese or those who have only studied Japanese for a very short time. Students learn basic expressions to interact in Japanese to carry out conversations about familiar everyday topics. The course covers language revolving around greetings, introductions, family members, food, home, daily routines, making appointments, hobbies, holidays, shopping, and asking for directions.

The course is designed for students to improve their reading and writing skills focusing on variety of patterns of simple and compound sentences applying basic writing skills. The goal is to improve clarity and cohesion in sentence writing.

This advanced level course instructs logical dialogue and conversation about abstract topics through reading, listening, writing, and viewing materials that deal with social themes. The course aims to improve Japanese expression, information analysis, and logical thinking skills through presentations, discussions, and writing. 

Sumi-e is the Japanese traditional art of ink painting.  The art of Sumi-e captures the essence of the subject and expresses emotions on a sheet of paper. Although the subject is the same, emotions are not; thus, everyone can paint the same subject but none of the paintings would look the same.  Students are expected to paint subjects according to a theme given in each class. As a final project, students will choose their subject and showcase their art in a weeklong class exhibition at the end of the semester. The course aims to instruct various ways of expressing different points of view through Sumi-e. 

This course must be taken simultaneously with CONTEMPORARY JAPANESE ECONOMY B. This course names and addresses the causes of economic problems that emerged in Japan within the last few decades. 

This course deals with ethnic and cultural minority groups in contemporary Japan. Japan is often described as a homogeneous society; indeed, it has a very dominant ethnic and cultural mainstream. This course looks at how minority groups have positioned themselves vis-a-vis the mainstream in finding a place for themselves in Japanese society while exploring their many fascinating similarities and differences in experiences.