The University of Tokyo
Global Japan Studies Summer Program
2017 (Report)

AN INQUIRY INTO JAPAN’S POSTWAR
July. 29-Aug. 8, 2017

Program Organizer:
Global Japan Studies (GJS) Network
Program Host Institution:
Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, the University of Tokyo
Global Japan Studies at the University of Tokyo is aninterdisciplinary and multilingual network of research andeducation on Japan. It seeks to bring together Japanese studies
overseas and studies of Japan within Japan. This summer program isa short-term education project in pursuit of this goal.

Introduction to the Global Japan Studies Summer Program (2017)
Japan’s postwar period is most often described in terms of four decades of high economic
growth followed subsequently by the recent recession dubbed “the lost two decades”(1990-present). Japan’s postwar, however, points to a far more complicated and ongoingprocess of social, cultural, and political changes, which this program set out to explore.
Participants were immersed in a ten-day intensive program of interdisciplinary academic
lectures (in humanities, social sciences, and engineering) as well as carefully planned
fieldtrips in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Through a well-designed combination of onand off-campus study, the program challenged participants to both critically analyze andactually experience specifically identified sociological and technological issues, such assustainable urban planning, gender inequality, and social stratification. These issues are
key for understanding not only Japan’s postwar itself but also the larger world to which
Japan is closely connected and of which Japan is intrinsically a part.
Program requirements:
Participants were required to conduct group research projects and give presentations on
the final day of the program. Project topics were decided in consultation with program
faculty members. Participants also were asked to complete a program evaluation.
While the program lecture and fieldtrip did not count toward course credits, participantsreceived a University of Tokyo summer program certificate upon successfully completingthe program.

Welcome Speech and Program Introduction by Prof. Sonoda ShigetoOn way tofieldtrip

Brainstorming in class

ExaminingPrimary
Sources inClassProgram Schedule 2017
9:00-10:20

10:40-13:30 (10:40-12:10 Lecture;
12:10-13:30: Lunch andDiscussion)

13:30-17:30 (field trip, time varyslightly everyday)

Evening

Group orientation, group phototaking / Atten: Profs. Sonoda,Nakajima, Zhong, Nii, TA

Free activity(Kagurazakamatsuri)

7/28
(Fri)

Arrival at Tokyo, check-in at Hotel Graphy Nezu

7/29
(Sat)

Guidance, Campus tour
/ No.1 Conference Room, IASA
/ Atten: Profs. Nakajima, Sonoda, Zhong, Nii, TA

7/30
(Sun)

Tour of Edo-Tokyo Museum (10:30-16:30, lunch inside museum)Free activity

7/31
Fieldtrip (1) 10:00-13:30(Mon) Kashiwanoha campus SmartCity/ Attn: Prof. Zhong, Mr. Mori, TA

Lecture (1) (14:30-16:30)
Free activity
Prof. SATO Jin“Resource Thinking in Postwar
Japan” /Lecture & discussion / No.1
Conference Room

8/1
(Tue)

Japanese/Center forJapanese
Language
Education(CJLE)

Fieldtrip (2)Free activity
The Futako-Tamagaya Rise, guided
by designer Hiraga Tatsuya/ Attn: Profs. Murayama, Zhong, TA

8/2
(Wed)

Free activity (optional trip: Exhibition “The Japanese House: Architecture and Life After 1945” @ The
National Museum of Modern Art)

8/3
(Thu)

Japanese/ CJLE

Lecture (3)Prof. SHIRAHASE Sawako“Social Inequalities in Postwar
Japan” / Lunch & discussion / MCR

Fieldtrip (3)Visiting Sanya with NPO Moyai/Attn: Prof, Zhong, TAFree activity

8/4
(Fri)

Japanese/ CJLE

Lecture (4)Prof. MATSUDA Yasuhiro“Japan’s Postwar Foreign Policy”/Lunch & discussion / MCR

Fieldtrip (4)Yasukuni Shrine/ Attn: Prof. Zhong, TAFree activity

8/5
(Sat)

Japanese/ CJLE

Lecture (5)Prof. NUMANO Mitsuyoshi“Japanese Literature after WorldWar II: Kawabata, Abe, Oe,
Murakami” /Lunch & discussion /MCR

Fieldtrip (5)Kanagawa Museum of Modern
Literature, Yokohama Chinatown/ Attn: Prof. Zhong, TAFree activity

8/6(Sun)Lecture (6)Prof. Nicola LISCUTIN“Acts of Memory and Forgetting:
Film in Postwar Japan” / Lunch &discussion / MCR

Fieldtrip (6)Asakusa-Odaiba Boat Tour, Lucky
Dragon Boat Museum/ Attn: Profs Liscutin, Zhong, TA

8/7
Japanese(Mon) / CJLEGroup work (Main Conference Rm)

Free activity

8/8(Tue)

Lecture (2)Prof. MURAYAMA Akito“Urban Diversity andTransformation of Tokyo”/Lunch & discussion/ Main
Conference RoomGroup presentation preparation and lunch (9:0012:00) /MCR /Attn: Profs. Nakajima, Zhong, & Nii,TALodge

Free activity

Presentation and farewell party (13:00-18:00)/ MCR / Attn: Profs. Nakajima, Liscutin, Zhong, &Nii, TAHotelGraphyNezu

Program Lecturers 2017
Nicola LISCUTIN (Professor of Japanese Studies and GLP-GEfIL Program Director at theCenter for the Development of Global Leadership Education, the University of Tokyo)
MATSUDA Yasuhiro (Professor of International Politics, Institute for Advanced Studies onAsia, the University of Tokyo)
NUMANO Mitsuyoshi (Professor of Modern Literature, Graduate School of Humanities
and Sociology, the University of Tokyo)
MURAYAMA Akito (Associate Professor of Urban Planning, Department of Urban
Engineering, School of Engineering, the University of Tokyo)
SATO Jin (Professor of Resource Politics, Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, theUniversity of Tokyo)
SHIRAHASE Sawako (Professor of Sociology, Graduate School of Humanities andSociology, the University of Tokyo)
Total Number of Participants: 16 (University of Tokyo students: 3)
Place of Origin: Sciences Po Paris (Institut d'Etudes Politiques), Heinrich Heine University
Düsseldorf, University of Nottingham, Trinity College of the University of Toronto,
Universite d'Ottawa, Shanghai Jiaotong University, University of Hong Kong, Swarthmore
College, New York University, University of Tsukuba, University of Tokyo
Final-day Group Presentation Topics:-Gender Equality in Japan-Japan’s Attitudes Towards Nuclear Energy-Japanese Cinema as a Coping Mechanism for Japanese Society-Irregular Employment in Japan
Fieldtrip to Yokohama

Fieldtrip to the Lucky
Dragon Boat Museum

Final day group presentation

Farewellparty

Participants’ Feedback:This is really an eye-widening and mind-altering experience for me and I am happy that I
decided to apply for this program. I think the most important lesson I take from the last 2weeks is attitude toward learning and handling differing opinions.
The schedule and itinerary perfectly met my expectations. It was indeed very condensed andtiring at times but I applied to this program to optimize at most my stay to study about Japan,
which I esteemed have been the case. Extra-resting time would have meant undesirable
additional cost to me.
I think that the schedule was appropriate. Especially, it was very good that we utilized
lunchtime for discussion.

I could see the great connection between field trips and lectures. The lectures wereinformative and interesting enough even for Japanese students.
This program let me have a chance to improve both my Japanese and English. It is a reallyrare chance for me to listen to the Japanese to comment on Chinese culture, policy, andeconomy. The communication with the international students was really wonderful. We
shared our opinion on questions and also shared our own life experiences.
What impressed me most is the combination of lectures and field trips. But
I also advise that maybe we can have more group work during fieldtrip.
My favourite field trips were the Yasakuni Shrine, and the visit to the Lucky
Dragon 5 Museum. They were the most powerful experiences.
I think I learned a lot academically and intellectually from the program. It
was quite structured and intensive. I think the part I liked the most was theability to interact with other students from UTokyo. They added a very vitaland important part to experiencing Japan and Tokyo. I definitely think I will
return to Japan once my studies are fully finished.
I have been extremely satisfied with the fieldtrips and I think they produced
a great combination of empirical and historical material complementing thelectures.
For me, a key asset of this program were the discussions with the lecturers aswell as within the student body which allowed us a comparative and morecritical understanding of the different themes.

Thank all the summer program participants of 2017! It is YOU
who made the program a success.
Latest information of the 2018 Summer Program will beavailable soon at gjs.ioc.u-tokyo.ac.jp
We look forward to your participation in 2018!
Program Committee Advisers: Profs. SONODA Shigeto, NAKAJIMA Takahiro
Secretariat: Prof. NII Yoko, Prof. ZHONG Yijiang
Contact:
Prof. NII Yoko (person in charge)
gjs@ioc.u-tokyo.ac.jp
Tel: (81)3-5841-5891
Fax: (81)3-5841-5898