The University of Tokyo
Global Japan Studies Summer
Program 2018 (Report)

AN INQUIRY INTO JAPAN’SPOSTWAR
July. 30-Aug. 10, 2018

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 is a short-term education project in pursuit of this goal.

Introduction to the Global Japan Studies Summer Program 2018

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” (1990present). Japan’s postwar, however, points to a far more complicated and ongoing process ofsocial, 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 theTokyo metropolitan area. They also attended morning Japanese classes. Through a welldesigned combination of on- and off-campus study, the program challenged participants tounderstand through actual experience and critically analyze important sociological and politicalissues, such as poverty, inequality, and aging. 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 thefinal day of the program. 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 completing theprogram.

Summer program participants making own noodle at the Nisshin Cup Noodle Museum

Program Schedule 2018
9:00-10:20

10:40-13:30(10:40-12:10 Lecture; 12:1013:30: Lunch and Discussion)

13:30-17:30 (approx.)

7/30
(Mon)

Guidance, self-introduction, grouping, campus
exploration/ Main Conference Room (MCR), Institute For Advanced
Studies on Asia
/ Attn: Profs. Sonoda, Zhong, & Stephanie

Short group presentations/ Atten: Profs. Sonoda, Zhong,Stephanie

7/31
(Tue)

Japanese/Japanese
Lecture (1): Prof. SHIRAHASE Sawako
Language Class,“Social Inequalities in Postwar Japan”
School of/ Lunch & discussion / MCR
Engineering(JLC-SE)

Fieldtrip (1)Visiting Sanya with NPO Moyai/Attn : Prof. Zhong, Stephanie

8/1
(Wed)

8/2
(Thu)

8/3
(Fri)

Lecture (2): Prof. SONODA Shigeto“Foodscape in Postwar Japan: Its
Development and Asian Connection”/Lunch & discussion / MCR

Fieldtrip (2)Nisshin Foods and Cup Noodle
Museum/Attn: Prof, Sonda, Zhong,
Stephanie

Japanese/JLC-SE

Lecture (3): Prof. SATO Jin“Resource Thinking in Postwar Japan”/Lecture & discussion /MCR

Fieldtrip (3)Kajima Corporation/ Attn: Prof. Zhong, StephanieJapanese/JLC-SE

Lecture (4): Prof. MURAYAMA Akito“Urban Diversity and Transformationof Tokyo”/Lunch & discussion/ Main Conference
Room

Fieldtrip (4)2020 Olympic and Paralympic Sites
at Tokyo Bay/ Attn: Profs. Murayama, Zhong,
Stephanie

Japanese/JLC-SE

8/4
(Sat)
8/5
(Sun)

Free activity
Free activity
Fieldtrip (5)Okamoto Taro Memorial Museum &Shibuya Station/ Attn: Profs Liscutin, Zhong,
Stephanie
Fieldtrip (6)Yasukuni Shrine/ Attn: Prof. Zhong, Stephanie

8/6(Mon)Japanese/JLC-SE

Lecture (5): Prof. Nicola LISCUTIN“Acts of Memory and Forgetting: Filmin Postwar Japan” / Lunch &discussion / MCR

8/7(Tue)

Japanese/JLC-SE

Lecture (6): Prof. MATSUDA Yasuhiro“Japan’s Postwar Foreign Policy”/Lunch & discussion / MCR

8/8(Wed)Preparation for group presentation /MCR /Attn: Prof. Zhong, Stephanie

8/9(Thu)Presentation for group presentation /MCR /Attn: Prof. Zhong, Stephanie

8/10(Fri)

Group presentation/MCR /Attn: Prof. Zhong, Dr. Watanabe, Stephanie,etc.

Farewell party/MCR /Attn: Prof. Zhong, Stephanie,etc.

Lodge

Hotel Graphy
Nezu
www.hotelgraphy.com(check-in:July 29,check-out:Aug 11)

Program Lecturers 2018
Nicola LISCUTIN
Professor of Japanese Studies and GLP-GEfIL Program Director at the Center for theDevelopment of Global Leadership Education, the University of Tokyo
MATSUDA Yasuhiro
Professor of International Politics, Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, the Universityof Tokyo
MURAYAMA Akito
Associate Professor of Urban Planning, Department of Urban Engineering, School ofEngineering, the University of TokyoSATO Jin
Professor of Resource Politics, Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, the University ofTokyoSHIRAHASE Sawako
Professor of Sociology, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, the University ofTokyo
SONODA Shigeto
Professor of Sociology and Asian Studies, Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, theUniversity of Tokyo

Practicing tea ceremony during Japanese language classat the Japanese Language Class of the School of Engineering

Prof. Shirahase Sawako lecturing on “Social Inequalities in Postwar Japan”

Chairperson of NPO Moyai, Mr. Ohnishi Ren, introducing “’Poverty’ in Wealthy Japan”

Prof. Sato Jin lecturing on “Resource Thinking in Postwar Japan”

Engineer Hara Toshiaki explaining Universal Design at the Kajima Construction Company headquarters

Prof. Murayama Akito lecturing on “Urban Diversity and the Transformation of Tokyo”

Having lunch-time discussion with Prof. Nicola Liscutin on“Acts of Memory and Forgetting: Film in postwar Japan”

Prof. Sonoda Shigeto lecturing on “Foodscape in Postwar Japan”

Prof. Matsuda Yasuhiro lecturing on “Japan’s Postwar Foreign Policy”

Total Number of Participants: 20 (University of Tokyo students: 1)
Places of Origin:

Cambridge University, Chinese University of Hong Kong Shenzhen, Gengdan Institute of BeijingUniversity of Technology, National Tsing Hua University, New York University Shanghai, Sciences
Po Paris (Institut d'Etudes Politiques), Shanghai International Studies University, Taiyuan NormalUniversity, University of Alberta, University of Amsterdam, University of Arizona, University ofHong Kong, University of Nottingham, University of St. Andrews, University of Toronto,
University of Tsukuba, Vassar College, University of Tokyo

Final-day Group Presentation Topics:-Hidden in Plain Sight: Sex and Porn Industry in Japan-Hierarchical Structure of Contemporary Japan-Japan’s Foreign Policy in Response to the Shift of Power in the Asia-Pacific Region-Japan: the Aging Society-Regional Inequality in JapanFieldtrip to the Panasonic Center at Tokyo bay

Participants’ Feedback:-I believe this is one of the most well-scheduled and well-arranged summer programs I have participated.
-I think the most inspiring part of this program is that it showed me that Japan is not a wonderland or
fantastic world that outsiders usually imagined. Japan is a country which has encountered tangible orinvisible social problems like basically all other developed countries. …By looking at social problems inJapan, we also need to take the initiative to consider those being marginalized in our own society, suchas the invisible homeless people, the poor elderly in the rural areas and the disabled.
-The field trips … are the most interesting and inspiring part of this program. We … were able to visit
many sites where tourists usually could not get in, such as the Kajima construction company andmeeting with one of the leaders from the Nissin cup noodle company. The field trip definitely made thisprogram unforgettable!
-The schedule was not too crowded and overwhelming, giving enough time to enjoy Tokyo in theevening while still providing a lot of interesting content through the lectures and field trips.
-I feel that we learned a lot in the program, and that it is knowledge that can be easily integrated into
future learning, be it directly or tangentially related to what we have learned. The reading materials werealso a good addition to our knowledge, which could be used for future research as starting points orreferences.
-The Japanese classes were really prepared by excellent teachers. The lessons are well combined with
our fieldtrips and lecture, which offered us important information before we explore.
-The environment, meals and facilities in Hotel Graphy were wonderful and it would not take our muchtime to walk from our hotel to the Hongo campus.
-The atmosphere in Hotel Graphy Nezu were friendly, young and vibrant - I made many friends with thestaff there.

Final-day group presentations

Thank all the summer program participants of 2018!
It is YOU who made the program a success.

Latest information of the 2019 summer program will be available
soon at gjs.ioc.u-tokyo.ac.jp
We look forward to your application and participation in 2019!
Program Committee:
Profs. SONODA Shigeto, TAKAMIZAWA Osamu, AOYAMA
Waka, NAKAJIMA Takahiro
Contact: Prof. ZHONG Yijiang
gjs@ioc.u-tokyo.ac.jp
Tel: (81)3-5841-5867
Fax: (81)3-5841-5898