Keio University

This course is designed for students who have some experience learning Japanese, enhancing their listening and speaking skills.  The course design is based on sentence structures and grammatical patterns learned in the course, ESSENTIAL JAPANESE 2M, which is recommended to take simultaneously with this course. 

This course is designed for students at the intermediate level. The course provides opportunities to increase vocabulary and grammar through reading newspaper articles as well as developing speech techniques necessary to state one's opinions about the articles. Through this course, students also gain a deeper understanding of Japanese society. 

Textbook: Instructor-created materials. 

This course asks how Japan can navigate the challenges in the Japanese economy in 2025. First, it considers the macro-economic policy mix that best suits the current situation. Next, it looks at labor market dynamics as a force of change. Last, the course focuses on various issues to enhance economic grow

This course is followed by "Contemporary Japanese Economy B", offered in fall semester. It is recommended to take both A and B for a comprehensive understanding of Japanese economy.

This course discusses the key concepts of human resource management in an Asia Pacific environment (HRM AP). It discusses how HRM is a key function of organizations, especially within the context of HRM AP. The course also examines the nature of HRM inter-relationships and principles for HRM AP, as well as the significant differences in HRM AP external and internal environments for various economies and cultures. 

This class is aimed at intermediate level students. It focuses on listening practice, and increases knowledge of vocabulary and grammar, while improving listening comprehension and oral expression. Through this class, students also gain a deeper understanding of Japanese society.

Textbook: Teacher-created materials. 

This is a Japanese language course for non-JLP students designed for students who have a fundamental knowledge of Japanese honorifics. It aims to improve students’ ability of using Japanese honorifics in both spoken and written language. By practicing polite Japanese in various situations or contexts, students learn the relation between Japanese culture and Japanese language, Japanese way of thinking, and Japanese communication. 

This course introduces main functions of governments, and explains some features of central and local governments in Japan. It course examines basic theories of public finance and the fiscal activities of governments, related to efficiency and equity criteria. It explores the issues of provision of public goods, externality, income (re)distribution, economic effects of taxation, some topics of intergovernmental fiscal relations, and some fiscal decision-makings of central and local levels. While the course mainly uses the framework of traditional public finance theory, if necessary, it introduces public choice approach.

Education offers a useful lens for looking at Japan’s society (or societies), for it pertains to becoming a functioning member of society. It focuses on issues such as what one needs to know to act properly; whom to respect; when to speak, and who to become. Education is also a critical site of the ongoing debate surrounding globalization, bringing the spread of English along with an increased presence of ethnic and social minorities. Education also aids in understanding Japanese family structure, food, fashion, and the culture of the everyday, all of which reflect (and construct) culture, social structure, and worldview.  

This course critically explores Japanese education with a multidisciplinary perspective and a balanced objective so that one can gain a deeper understanding of contemporary Japan.