School of Global Studies and Collaboration
Aoyama Gakuin University
Course Descriptions forJapan Studies Courses
2024 Spring ~ Fall
Academic Affairs Division
Sagamihara Campus Administration Department
School of Global Studies and Collaboration

Aoyama Gakuin University
Address: 5-10-1 Fuchinobe, Chuo-ku, Sagamihara-shi, Kanagawa, 252-5258, JAPANE-mail: exchange@gsc.aoyama.ac.jp
Phone: +81-42-759-6050
FAX: +81-42-759-6035
Last updated on: February, 2024

Japan Studies Courses
GSC’s Japan Studies Program offers unique opportunities for international students to be immersed in themulti-facets of Japan. The students acquire in-depth knowledge on culture, economy, business, policy, history
and geography from accomplished scholars, professionals experienced in policy, renowned artists andentrepreneurs. The program is also designed for Japanese students to acquire the knowledge and skills tointroduce their country to overseas in their future careers. Some of the coursework involves excursions orhands-on experiences. This program consists of 16 courses (32 credits) taught in English.
(Courses are subject to change.)

Title

Surveying and Cartography in Japan

Modern Japanese History:Samurai Age to Modernity

Introduction to Japanese Culture

FromDescription
SemesterThis course is designed as an introduction to thegeography of Japan. It will focus on understanding thegeographical environment of Japan, studying various
disasters in Japan including the policy for disasterprevention and reduction and the roles of geospatial
information against disasters. It will also give a lecture on
Springbasic methods of surveying and cartography as a tool forthe visualization of natural conditions and disaster risks.
It includes a small group work and the oral presentation
among participants, and also enhances the developmentof students’ skill in making oral presentation andcooperating with others.
The course aims to provide students with an overview ofthe history of modern Japan from the early modern Edo
Bakufu (1600-1867) to the end of the Pacific War in 1945.
They will encounter some of the most important
individuals, institutions, and ideas that have been
involved in Japan’s rise as a modern power. Particularemphasis will be placed on the global context and Japan’s
multi-dimensional interaction with other countries. Socialand cultural developments will be discussed alongside keypolitical events, offering students insight into not only theemergence of the modern Japanese state, but also thedaily lives of people in the past.

SpringThis course is a general introduction to Japanese culture
and society. First, we will examine researchmethodologies to Japanese culture. Second, we will cover
Japanese cultural elements, including art, skill, cuisine,literature, communication, etc. Finally, we will look atsome of the major spiritual elements that have shaped
modern Japanese culture and society, including Shinto,
Buddhism, syncretism, and the Western influences. A
variety of films and videos will be used. Students will give
several presentations and write a final test.

SpringTitleDescription

SemesterJapanese Economic Cooperation withDeveloping Countries

How should we eradicate poverty and inequality? Howshould we achieve peace and justice? How should weguarantee prosperity, health, education, and decent work
for all? Japan has been tackling these challenges for oversixty years, by providing aid (Official DevelopmentAssistance: ODA) to developing countries with distinctive
aid philosophy and unique instruments.
This course firstly introduces a basic knowledge aboutdevelopment issues and Japan’s ODA policy. Thenstudents are encouraged to think critically about theconventional wisdom on global agendas. The course will
be interactive, with the combination of lecture, group
discussion, and role-playing game. No prior knowledge isrequired.

SpringThis course focuses on Japanese traditional culture. It is
designed to provide students with information on
Japanese traditional culture such as flower arrangement,
calligraphy, Japanese cuisine, Kyogen, Kabuki and so on.
The course will be taught by artists, performers andexperts who are known internationally. Students will havethe unique opportunities to listen to their experiences,
their thinking and the background as well as to watch
performances first hand. Depending on the topic, you will
also have hands on experiences in class.

SpringIn this course features of Japan's post-WWII economic
development will be examined. Particular attention will be
paid at the concept of industrial policy and institutional
aspects of Japan's economy.

Spring

Traditional Art and Culture in Modern
Japan

Economic and Industrial Development
Policy in Postwar Japan

TitleWar Memory in Modern Japan

Introduction to Japanese Politics andSociety

Issues in Modern Japanese Education

Lifestyle and Society in Japan

Description

SemesterThis class will survey how war memories haveinfluenced Japanese identity and vice versa intwentieth-century Japan. The class will also
examine the impact of Japanese andinternational politics on the relationshipbetween war memories and Japanese identity.
Lectures and class discussions are based on
weekly readings.

Fall

The course seeks to introduce students to thefundamental political, economic and social components
of modern Japan through tracing its historicaldevelopment from the end of the Pacific War in 1945 up
until the present. Through a comprehensive and global
approach, students will learn of the major developmentsthat have shaped Japan on the way from its struggle torebuild after the war to its rise as a major economic andcultural power in the contemporary world. The course will
cover not only the transformation of the state and social
systems, but also the impact of these on the lives andculture of the population.

Fall

The lecture aims to reveal the special characteristics ofJapanese education and society by understanding thesocial role and function of education and the social factors
behind educational issues. Specifically, the lecture willconsider social and educational change in Japan throughthe radical changes in education that have occurred up to
the present time from the early-modern period whenlearning became common throughout society as a whole,
to the period of postwar recovery, to the period of rapid
economic growth, to the period of globalization. With
regard to present-day education, particular attention will
be paid to the various issues in education that haveaccompanied social changes.

Fall

This class will introduce students to twentieth-century
Japanese History. The main part of this class will consist ina joint reading of the second half of Andrew Gordon’s A
Modern History of Japan (Third International Edition,2013). Weekly classes will be primarily lectured based, butsome time will be devoted to discussions. The lectures will
review the text, highlighting and enlarging on its mainpoints.

FallTitle

Cool Japan: Contextualizing
Contemporary Popular Culture

Travel and Tourism in ContemporaryJapan

Financial Systems and Economic
Development in Postwar Japan

Description

SemesterThis course focuses on Japanese contemporary culture, so
called Cool Japan. It is designed to provide students withinformation about robotics, anime, fashion, music,origami and so on. It will enable the students to acquire
the knowledge and skills to present Japanesecontemporary culture globally. Experts and artists will
present features of ‘cool Japan‘ and show how Japanesecontemporary culture and arts can promote cultural
understanding. During this course, students will also takepart in workshops to gain experience of origami making
etc. This will allow students to appreciate the Japaneseheart and mind as reflected in contemporary culture.

Fall

Tourism is regarded as the pillar of Japan's economic
growth strategy, and one of the main components of theregional revitalization. The students of this class willlearn to understand the present conditions of ourcountry’s international and domestic tourism, and how
they are contributing to the society and the economy.
In the class, some of the popular tourist destinations andtourism facilities will be introduced, as well as the major
stakeholders in the tourism industry, including hotels,ryokan, transport and tourism organizations. Discussion
will also extend to tourism management and policy
making of present-day Japan.

Fall

In this course, the process of achievement inreconstruction and development of post-war Japan’s
economy will be examined. Particular focus will be theseveral economic development stages in post-WWII era
and the special role of development finance, especiallyJapan Development Bank that is considered to haveplayed a substantial role in Japan’s post-war economy forvarious aspects: implementing World Bank loans forreconstruction, financing leading industries in 1960’s,
promoting environmental sustainability more recently.

FallTitleDescription

Semester

Google / Ingress I - Beyond Google Earth.

New Frontiers in Geospatial GamingAdvanced Resilient Communities
against Disaster

Drone Journalism

Google Earth has changed the educational method ofgeography. It is a very useful visualization tool, but only forthe cyber world. Not for real world. Google has known thisdemerit on Google Earth, so they have launched theIngress system on the mobile phone in 2012. The Ingresscan make the chances for outdoor actives in the city. This
course will explain the state of the Ingress in Japan forgeospatial education and tourism.

SAFECAST
This course will describe the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear
Powerplant disaster, its causes, its consequences forpeople and the environment, and the innovative responseof the citizens’ based environmental monitoring group
SAFECAST. It will include lectures, demonstrations, andhands-on workshops (building a GPS/data logging Geiger
counter, and logging and mapping radiation data). A
reading list will be provided, which will include chaptersfrom relevant books, web reports, and online videos.

Conventional photography and video in journalism has
been subjective in its angle of view and composition, withmuch of it taken from the ground, assuming a humanpresence. However, with the use of unmanned aircraft
drones, a collection of cutting-edge technology,
journalists have a new set of eyes that can give them amore objective and bird's eye view. In this course, we willlearn the principles of photography and video that acamera can record, and by flying the drone ourselves, wewill gain the skills necessary for journalists to obtainfactual information, and discuss what the next generationof journalism should be like with you.
This class is partly conducted in combination with a realtime class using Zoom, etc.

2nd halfof Fall

2nd halfof Fall

Fall
Intensive