Introduction
APS students now have more
opportunities than ever to learn
beyond traditional classrooms throughrole-play, moot courts, and othervarious platforms. APU has been oneof the sole two national representativesof Japan at the Asia Cup International
Law Moot Court Competition for two
years in a row since 2021. Moreover,
our team performed excellently andwon first-place consecutively at theInternational Humanitarian Role-playCompetition in 2021 and 2022.

INTERVIEW WITH

Assistant Professor
HIRANO Miharu
Case competition opportunities
for students: How to encourage
students to challenge themselves
and aim highAssiastant Professor HIRANO Miharu

Assistant Professor Hirano has been working at APU
since Fall 2019. He specializes in international lawand teaches at the College of Asia Pacific Studies(Field of Study: International Relations).

Q1. Can you briefly explain the twocompetitions that you are mentoring?
I have mentored two types of competitions:international law moot court and international
humanitarian law role-play.
“Flow of international law moot court competitions”

The Secretariat presents a hypotheticalproblem with the theme of a dispute betweennations.
↓Written Memorial:Each team summarizes their arguments inwriting.
↓Oral Pleading:
The teams are divided into the applicant(prosecutor) and the defendant to present theirarguments before judges regarding the legal
issues resulting from the hypotheticalsituation.

Interview Date: November 2023

“Flow of the International Humanitarian Law
Role-play Competition”

Based on the scenario released on the dayof the competition, participants playvarious roles assigned to them, such as
humanitarian organization, government,and media, under the various hypotheticalsettings within the armed conflict, and takeon missions such as negotiating with
combatants or visiting prisoners of war.

Until last year I had mentored entirely online, but
now I can meet with students face-to-face once
every week or two and provide them with feedback
to prepare them for the competitions. Apartfrom the competitions, we also hold a joint
seminar with a professor from Ritsumeikan
University to organize a friendly moot court. Any
fourth-year students in my seminar can participate

This semester, ALRCS’ Project Q
Team is aiming to provide insights
into the role of mentors during casecompetitions by presenting theperspectives of two experienced
mentors and two successful students.
We hope that our articles help otherprofessors see the importance of casecompetitions at APU and discover how
to guide their students to success.

Award Certificates and Trophies of
the International Humanitarian Law Role Play Competition

in external competitions and support third-year

Therefore, when I proposed the idea to participate

students participating in the joint seminar as

in such competitions to my seminar students, theyseniors. The key to these activities is the ability toresponded positively with “I want to do it!” , then,comprehensively utilize the knowledge and skills

I added, “Let’s try to win it!” This is how it started.

gained from libraries, databases, international law,and daily studies.

Q2. What inspired you to join the MootCourt?

Q3. Amongst past competitions, which
one was the most interesting?
There are only two universities qualified torepresent Japan in the Asia Cup International Law

I have participated in moot court competitions as a

Moot Court Competition every year. Even on thestudent myself. Also, from observing the actual

first attempt, APU made it through the national

environment at APU, mainly First-year Education

selection and secured the slot. This selection waslectures (MCW), its atmosphere, and TA activities,

based solely on the written memorial, so I

I realize that APU’s active learning methods areremember the feeling of surprise and happiness for

perfect for case competitions. Moreover, I can see

the team for gaining this level of recognition. The

the potential from students who apply what theyjunior students were also inspired by thathave learned earlier from lectures on international

achievement.

law to demonstrate their abilities in seminars.

The other interesting moment was when students

Qon it while thinking independently:

participated in the International Humanitarian Law
Role-play Competition. I had never done a

the ability to research what is necessary at the time,role-play competition and was very amazed at theknowing how to find the relevant legal documents,

wonderful acting skills of APU students. And theyand knowing how to make persuasive arguments.

were the National Round Japan champions afterall!

In addition to English language ability, writingabilities and interpersonal skills are crucial● Student Participation

especially in role-play. Even if you are notconfident, I think it is vital to have the ability to be

Q4. For students, what skills arenecessary and what attitudes should be
kept in mind when competing?
In terms of legal studies, it is necessary to acquire a“legal mindset” to know how to evaluate certain
relevant facts when applying them to the law.
International law might be ambiguous sometimes,
but what solves the problem are the skills to work

confident and undergo the challenge and topersevere even when your argument crumbles andneeds to be rebuilt.
Furthermore, all members must also be on thesame playing field as a team. These skills are notsomething that I as the faculty member can
instruct. Therefore, it is important that students

Extract from the AY 2022 International Humanitarian Law Moot Court problem

understand that although their individual goals aredifferent, all team members should be willing tobuilder for them. Therefore, I think that students

compromise and collaborate toward the common

will be able to objectively develop their skills

objectives.

through feedback given by professors acting as
judges and students from other schools in an

Q5. I think that competitions areimportant, beneficial experiences forstudents, but what exactly are the skills
that can be trained?
All the above-mentioned skills can certainly be
developed through competitions, but what I think isimportant among the experiences in thecompetition is the confidence gained throughbecoming aware of the ability to achieve
something. Since APU does not have a law
program, students do not know if they are doingright when preparing for a competition. Students
trust my guidance, but achieving certain results inan external competition can be a great confidence

environment outside of APU at these competitions.
Since this is an extracurricular activity, students
cannot earn graduation credits. As it will bedifficult for fourth-year seniors to balance job
hunting or preparation for graduate school and theheavy workload from competitions, they must havegood time management skills.

● Faculty Mentoring
Q6. As a mentor, what can you do toimprove student experiences throughthese competitions?First and foremost, I believe being a mentor isme as well.

supporting students to take on challenges withconfidence. When it comes to competing with otherprestigious universities, students sometimes
doubt their abilities, but I encourage them to try
their best and aim for the highest result. Planning is
also crucial. I try to support each student
individually to so that they are not overwhelmed.
Moreover, I always try to call out students’
individual achievements as well as areas forimprovement so that they can have confidence and7. Are you enthusiastic for the upcoming
competitions?
APS won the Role-play Competition for the second
time in a row and the team of three students will
participate in the international round in Albania.9
My strongest feeling right now is: “Do your beston the world stage!”

Interviewer’s Impression
This interview was a very precious experience for me to heardirectly from the professor about the appeal of case competitions. It was especially interesting to hear about the teaching

work harder.

methods of professors who often support their students gener-The approaches above are what I aim to do for theously. I hope that more people will take on new challenges atstudents, but seeing students work hard every day
motivates me also; there is a synergistic effect. I
have not necessarily experienced role-playing
myself, but there are many things I got to noticecompetitions in the future, and that this article will be helpful tostudents who are interested in competitions.

while coaching, and it is a learning experience for

What is [Q]?

At APU there are many professors who put together wonderful classes, andif we could get to know how these classes are planned, it would contributeto the improvement of other professors’ classes. For that purpose, we havebegun doing interviews in order to learn about class planning. These articles
have been entitled [Q], comprising a variety of meanings such as: increasing
the [Q]uality of classes, answering [Q]uestions to increase quality, andforming a [Q]ueue, or line, of class improvements. We would be very happy ifthese articles could contribute to the [Q]uest of APU professors’ class
The Project Q Team with Assistant Professor Hirano

quality improvement.

Interviewer and Author
Name：SHIBATA AyahaCollege：APS
Country : Japan
Message: Hello everyone! I am SHIBATA
Ayaha, a Q-Team member with ALRCS
since Fall 2021. My hobbies are listening
to music and looking at design. Throughparticipating in Project Q, I have beenable to get to know professors’ andsenior students’ views on learning at
APU and strengthen my desire to further
deepen my own learning. I would like toconvey the appeal of seminars that I
learned and felt in the interview to allstudents!

Interviewer and Translater
Name：DO Ngoc Minh Thu
College：APM(A&F)
Country : Vietnam
M e s s a g e : H i ! I ’m Z o e y , 2 n d y e a r
Accounting & Finance. I have an ardentpassion for writing and blogging. I love
the process from talking to many people
and listening to their stories, to writing
well-structured articles for everyone toread. Therefore, as a Q-Team member, I
want to create quality reading
experience for both professors andstudents about academic life at APU.