Human Rights Education in Japanese Universities:
Challenges and Suggestions*Mino TakamatsuThe United Nations World Programme for Human Rights
Education (wphre) stresses human rights education at the tertiary level in its Second (2010-2014) and Fourth (2020-2024) Phases.1
The Fourth Phase is focused on youth and is aligned with the 2030 Agenda
for Sustainable Development, specifically with target 4.7.2
The Fourth Phase of the wphre “defines ‘youth’ as those persons between the ages of 15 and 24 years.”3 This age bracket falls within the age
bracket for most of the students at the tertiary level. The Fourth Phase of
the wphre provides for “human rights education for youth within formal
education (secondary, higher and vocational education).”4
Sustainable Development Goal 4.7 (sdg 4.7) on Quality Education
states:4.7 Education for sustainable development and global citizenship by 2030 ensure all learners acquire knowledge and skills
needed to promote sustainable development, including among
others through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion ofa culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship, and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution tosustainable development.
There is a clear mention of human rights, gender equality and cultural
diversity as some of the key topics on which knowledge and skills must develop to support sustainable development. While sdg 4.7 does not mention
levels of education, the inclusion of “university” in sdg 4.4 indicates the coverage of tertiary level in sdg 4 as a whole.5 sdg 4.7 should cover the tertiary*This article is an expanded version of the paper of the author presented at the HawaiiInternational Conference on Education on 4 January 2023.
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level of education to support the continuous development of knowledge andskills on human rights from primary to the tertiary levels.
A number of universities in Japan are offering human rights courses
both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. What do these courses
teach? What challenges do they face? And what opportunities exist for thesecourses?
Review of Human Rights Education in JapanThe Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology ofJapan has developed human rights education guidelines for primary andsecondary school levels.6 But neither policy nor guideline have been adopted for human rights education for the tertiary level. This situation led
to the development of contents and methods of human rights education in
Japanese universities dependent on either the university or the instructor.
Research on human rights education in Japan from 1990s to the 2000s
presents specific characteristics and challenges that reflect the local humanrights situation as well as thinking among Japanese educators. However, developments on human rights education in Japan from 2010s onward have
yet to be analyzed through research. The review of literature below is based
mainly on research done during the 1990s to 2000s period.
Understanding of human rights and human rights education
Yasumasa Hirasawa (1991) sees the tendency of the Japanese people toview social relationships according to dual categories such as “us” and “others” that makes it difficult for them to understand others. He thinks that thisview causes a lack of human rights consciousness. He also finds the Japaneseview that human rights means being the same and equal as the reason for
the thinking that people are the same. This view does not support individual
differences and the concept of individual rights according to international
human rights standards.7
Minoru Mori (2005) views human rights education in the Japanese
school system as having a strong image related to the anti-discrimination
education movement, one of the main human rights education movements
in Japan. This movement has influenced human rights education in Japanand focuses on discrimination, especially “Buraku” problems in certain areasin Japan.8 The discrimination against the Buraku people covers employment

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and marriage. This anti-discrimination education movement promotes theraising of awareness on discrimination issues in order to resolve them. Morialso points out that since Japanese human rights education focused on thelife of the Buraku people, the teaching of human rights law and international
treaties is lacking up. This was the situation until the 2000s.
At least up to the early 2000s, another characteristic and also a weaknessof human rights education in Japan, is the view of teachers on discrimination. Their involvement in anti-discrimination education movements affects
their own personal concerns and thinking about their lives in relation to thelives of the Buraku people. This results in equating human rights issues withthose of the Buraku people and failing to link human rights concerns to theirown concerns. This makes it difficult for teachers and non-Buraku students
to consider the discrimination problems as their own, and to act together
with the Buraku people to solve them.9
Shuji Ikuta notes two aspects of human rights - moral-philosophicaland legal. He sees Japanese human rights education as lacking in teaching
the legal frameworks of human rights. Learning the legal frameworks of human rights means making students know how to protect human rights. Ikuta
explains that Japanese human rights education tends to be a type of moral
education that emphasizes equality and establishment of human relationships as influenced by Dowa education and moral education.10 Ikuta criticizes Japanese human rights education for failing to teach individual rightsfrom a legal perspective that requires solving human rights issues throughthe legal process. This further leads to the failure to teach the protection ofindividual freedoms. Students are therefore unable to develop the skill ofcritically thinking about rights that should be protected by the legal system.11
Sowa (2008) sees the problem of Japanese human rights education in
focusing too much on specific issues in areas where Buraku discrimination
exists. This type of human rights education might be meaningful in those areas, but not in other places with different human rights concerns. This situation prevents people in other areas or regions of the country from learning
human rights in their universal sense.12
Limitations of human rights education in the university
Katsuki Itayama (2018) explains the different reasons behind humanrights education in all levels of education – primary, secondary and tertiarylevels – in Japan. At the tertiary level, discrimination was the main issue

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example, the case of Buraku discrimination involving a university student
in 1950 that led to frequent discriminatory incidents related to Buraku issues at the university. Some students of the university demanded education
against discrimination to address the issue. This type of discrimination occurred in several universities and became the origin as well as main reason
for starting human rights education at the tertiary level in Japan.13 He also
explains why Human Rights Centers were established in universities. He
cites the example of Osaka City University, a public university. In 1961, aposter containing discriminatory language against a female student was put
up in the university premise. Since then, similar incidents occurred such as
discriminatory graffiti on a wall and desks. The Osaka City University and its
research center saw the need to raise the awareness of students and staff onsolving these issues. The university started the course on Dowa Educationand Human Rights Education in 1973 in order to respond to students’ protests against the discriminatory incidents and their demand to resolve theissue. However, the discriminatory incidents continued. The university established a committee on the issue and adopted an action plan in 1975 basedon the policy for resolving the issues.14
Risa Kumamoto (2010) highlights the complexity of the problems affecting Dowa-related human rights education in Japan. She points out the
insufficient number of researchers in the field of Dowa/Buraku issues. She
cites the lack of collaboration among departments and fields of study within
the university that contributes to the small number of instructors who canteach human rights. Moreover, she points out the lack of opportunity for
Buraku people to establish their own academic field as “Buraku issues studies.” While there are voices in the academe calling for the establishment of
women’s studies and gender studies, such voices do not exist in support of
Buraku issues studies.
The practice of leaving the teaching of human rights mainly to parttime instructors also causes the lack of instructors who can hold humanrights courses.
In the case of universities with human rights centers, researchers inthese centers tend to focus on specific human rights issues and fail to share
their studies with other researchers. This situation also causes the lack ofconsistency in research on issues since research is dependent on the individual researchers in the centers. At the same time, some centers suffer from

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a lack of researchers in the field of human rights, and researchers assigned tothe centers see their posting as added work. These centers also lack collaboration with other academic institutions, and consequently fail to develop
research agenda in relation to other academic fields.
An additional factor is the tendency of people in Japan of avoiding human rights issues. They may think that Buraku issues are complicated andmay not want to discuss them with others.
These situations prevent the human rights research results from being
widely explored and utilized.15
Mariko Akuzawa (2007), in a comparison of human rights education programs in Asia and the Pacific, finds the existence of graduate-level human rights research and education in a number of countries such as
Mahidol University (Thailand), Ateneo de Manila University (Philippines),
Kathmandu School of Law (Nepal), University of Colombo (Sri Lanka), andUniversitas Gadjah Madah (Indonesia). The programs cover various fields,such as law, philosophy, ethics, theology, history, sociology, cultural anthropology, politics, psychology, and education. They cover not only the study ofhuman rights concepts but also real situations. Therefore, professors do not
simply give lectures but carry out fieldwork, and introduce internships bycollaborating with non-governmental organizations (NGOs), internationalorganizations and other human rights organizations. She points out that it isimportant to introduce human rights degree programs in Japan by learningfrom other countries’ practices.16
Finally, Kiyoko Majima (2010) points out the lack of research on thepractices of human rights education at Japanese universities. She cites her
own practice of teaching human rights in a teacher training course. She uses
legal cases and analyzes their outcome. The use of legal cases is a uniquepractice in human rights education. She carefully chooses the legal cases as
educational materials in consideration of privacy issues, and makes lessonplans with carefully thought-out objectives. She uses civil cases because it iseasier to predict the damage to the victim, to know the needed protection
from the problems such as discrimination, and to provide the students with
sufficient bases for thinking and making a fair judgment. She has held fifteenclasses on the civil cases and analyzed the students’ learning outcomes fromstudent questionnaires. She found out that through the course, studentschanged their minds and perspectives by discussing a case and thinking
with others about the judgment. She emphasizes that legal case materials

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can be good educational materials for students to encourage them to analyze the issues and make a fair judgment.17
Based on these studies, there are several challenges that Japanese human rights education is facing. First, Japanese human rights education originally started from Dowa- and Buraku-problems, and discrimination issues
were raised as one of the main topics. Human rights education in Japanese
universities started because of the discriminatory cases in universities, andHuman Rights Centers were established because of the demand by students
and university staff to address discrimination incidents (mainly through education). The origin of Japanese human rights education in primary and secondary school levels and that in higher education are slightly different, butthey both started with similar focus on Buraku issues. This does not meanthat the theme of human rights education in Japan is only about discrimination. There is lack of teaching from the legal aspect of human rights as wellas their universal character. Human rights education also tends to teach morality and equality focused on specific individual issues. The method of one
instructor in using a legal case in teaching human rights has not been seenamong instructors as a good practice. Second, in Japan, people consider discrimination issues as other people’s issues, and try not to consider them as
their own. This view makes it difficult for students to understand discrimination properly. This point applies to Japanese human rights education at
all levels of formal education. Third, since Dowa and Buraku issues are notyet considered as constituting an academic field, these issues are difficult
to research and teach in universities. This leads to lack of academics in thisfield, as well as lack of connection with other researchers in other academic
fields. This in turn results in a small number of academics who teach humanrights courses in Japan. Fourth, it is important to see other countries’ practices in order to review and improve Japanese human rights education. The
studies also point to the need to consider human rights education programs
that cover a wide range of fields including law, philosophy, ethics and otherfields of study.
Human Rights Education in Japanese Universities
The author surveyed the human rights education syllabuses of universities inJapan during the June 2018 to March 2020 period. One hundred twenty-five
universities were covered by the survey. They included education universi-

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ties, national and public universities, and private universities. Universities
with specialized focus were not included in the survey such as universities
for medicine, nursing, dentistry, technology/technical field, fashion andsports, and also junior colleges. These higher education institutions offer
human rights courses related to their specific areas of study (e.g., medicine
and human rights). It is difficult to compare these specialized and uniquecourses with courses under the General Education framework. Thus, in thissurvey, the courses under the General Education curriculum (that all students could take) were selected. These courses give insights on what should
be taught in human rights education for students in general.
The different categories of universities in Japan are based on the type ofstructure on ownership, system of policymaking and curriculum development. Academic fees and the number of students of the universities differ
depending on the categories. In this survey, each university category is defined in the following manner:••••

Education universities: they are teacher training institutions wherestudents study to become teachers after graduation;
National universities: they are universities administered by theState/national government;
Public universities: they are universities administered by local governments (city and prefectural governments);
Private universities: they are privately owned and managed
universities.

The survey reviewed human rights syllabuses available in the websitesof Japanese universities. Of one hundred twenty-five universities surveyed,
three hundred ninety-two courses related to human rights were found.
There are likely other courses that were not found using the online searchengine. In searching the syllabuses, the key words “Human Rights” wereused. Among these universities, the author visited eight universities in different parts of Japan to learn more about practices such as teaching andevaluation methods. The eight universities were chosen due to their uniquehuman rights courses in relation to themes covered. Among the eight interviewees, seven were instructors, who actually taught the human rights
courses, and one was an administrative staff. After observing educational
practices, a semi-structured interview for approximately one hour was con-

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ducted. The interview included: (1) themes raised in human rights courses,(2) methods used, (3) assessment, and (4) challenges. Interviews in theseselected universities do not necessarily explain all the characteristics ofJapanese human rights education. In addition, Human Rights Centers weresurveyed by checking university website.
Human rights education courses
An analysis of the results of the online survey of university syllabuses
confirms the lack of human rights degree programs in Japanese universities.
There are individual human rights courses offered for undergraduate andgraduate students in the Department of Law or as part of General Education
subjects. In this article, the author narrows the survey analysis to humanrights courses offered under General Education, which is open to all students, in order to find out what students taking any course or studying any
field would learn about human rights.
Chart 1 shows the number of courses offered under General Educationof universities in different prefectures.
Chart 1: Breakdown of human rights courses by regions

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The chart shows the percentage of human rights courses among theuniversities in each prefecture. Many courses are offered in the Kansai region, especially in Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo prefectures. The existence of
Buraku problems (which have existed for a long time and remain at present)in this region is a likely explanation for the existence of many human rights
courses. There are human rights courses in universities in other prefecturesand regions but with much less number. The general characteristics of thecourses according to the type of universities are the following:•••

Education universities offer human rights education as part ofteacher training;
National and public universities do not offer many courses compared to private universities, andPrivate universities offer a variety of human rights courses especially in the Kansai region and in Tokyo. This implies that the practicesof these universities do not influence the other universities.

The results of the survey indicate that universities conduct human rights
education under their own curriculum, or their instructors make the programs and courses to teach human rights through their own specialty suchas gender and Dowa issues. Detailed explanation on why Japanese universities’ human rights courses are based on instructor’s specialties is provided in
the section on human rights education practices in universities.
Chart 2 shows the themes raised in human rights courses in Japanese
universities. This survey used key words to search each syllabus, and collected multiple answers of each course. While reading each syllabus, the author and three research assistants who were graduate students in literature
discussed and identified the key words in this survey.
Of the themes chosen for human rights education, “Discriminatedcommunity/hamlet,” specifically the “Buraku and Dowa problem,” is mostcommon among the universities. This topic is taken up mostly in the Kansai
region. In other regions, the following tendency is observed on themes
chosen:1.
2.

“Education site (teaching methods at school), moral and bullying”
issues for education universities;“Sex difference, gender” for many private universities in Tokyo;

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3.
4.

“Human Rights Law and Constitution” for national universities;
and“Minorities and foreigners in Japan” for public universities.

Importantly, content related to “International Human Rights Law,
Constitution,” “thought, theory and Human Rights” and “Global andInternational” issues were listed very frequently in all types of universities.
As discussed in the review of human rights education in Japan, domestic
issues are frequently listed. This implies the potential of changing Japanesehuman rights education by introducing not only individual discrimination
issues, but also the universal and global aspects of issues in Japanese society.

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In addition, the online survey reveals that private universities tend tohave a variety of themes, while national and public universities have courses organized under their specific curriculums. Education universities offer
courses for students who will become teachers after graduation, thus thefocus of their human rights courses was different.
Human rights centers
Some universities in Japan have established human rights centers. The
online survey of these human rights centers revealed information on theirobjectives, see Tables 1 and 2. The surveyed human rights centers generally organize lectures, symposiums, “enlightenment”18 (awareness-raising)activities along with surveys and research activities, production of publications, and setting up of a human rights library. The research areas in eachcenter differ and cover the following, among others: elimination of Buraku
discrimination, race and ethnic issues, disability discrimination, gender, international human rights security, the United States military presence in
Okinawa, culture of the Ainu (indigenous people in northern Japan), ethnic
discrimination, world peace, the abolition of nuclear weapons, community
development, and other human rights issues.
Table 1. List of universities with human rights centers
Type

University

National University

Tokyo University

National University

Hokkaido University

Public University

Osaka Metropolitan University

Public University

Hiroshima City University

Private University

Kansai University

Private University

Kindai University

Private University

Kansai Gaidai University

Private University

Hanazono University

Private University

Kwansei Gakuin University

Private University

Otani University

Private University

Ritsumeikan University

Private University

Tenri University

Private University

Kyoto Sangyo University

Private University

Doshisha University

Private University

Kanagawa University

Private University

Sophia University

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Table 2. Human rights centers: Objectives
CenterObjectives

Center for Documentation of
Refugees and Migrants (CDR)- Tokyo University

1. To collect, organize and disseminate information related to themigration of peoples, and especially the study of migration;
2. To become the center of knowledge and experiences of refugees andmigrants.

Center for Ainu & Indigenous Studies- Hokkaido University

1. To hold open lectures to share research findings with the public andencourage Ainu people to utilize them;
2. To hold public lectures and other events regularly with researchers
specializing on languages, histories, cultures, legal systems, intellectual
property rights and other aspects related to Ainu and other indigenous
peoples;
3. To research on Ainu and other indigenous peoples in a range ofacademic fields such as political science, pedagogy and tourism studies.

Research Center for Human Rights –Osaka Metropolitan University

To undertake research on a broad range of issues affecting the Japanesesociety at present, namely, Burakumin discrimination, gender, ethnic,
disability and other minority/human rights issues.

Hiroshima Peace Institute - Hiroshima
City University

To establish the flamework of “Peace Education” based on theexperiences in Hiroshima by systematizing the previous research andcontinuous research outcome.

Institute of Human Rights Studies Kansai University

1.To facilitate the fulfillment of human rights both within and outside theuniversity;
2. To contribute towards the human rights awareness of people at large;
3. To help advance research in the realm of human rights.

Center for Human Rights - Kindai
University

To contribute to the realization of human rights by carrying out research on
discrimination at home and abroad, including Buraku discrimination, race/
ethnicity, gender discrimination and disability discrimination.

Human Rights Research Institute Kansai Gaidai University

To learn basic human rights and enjoy them in reality through researchand practice.

Research Center for Human Rights Hanazono University

To contribute to the promotion of human rights education and raiseawareness of human rights in the university through collection of
information about human rights problems, and investigating andresearching on human rights issues.

Institute for Human Rights Researchand Education - Kwansei Gakuin
University

1. To undertake research on human rights issues;
2. To establish and administer regular courses on human rights;
3. To implement awareness-raising programs and produce human rights
materials.

Human Rights Center - Otani
University

1. To respect students’ and staff’s human rights, and create anenvironment for study and research;
2. To provide a library of human rights publications and a desk forstudents and staff to consult on human rights issues.

Peace Education and ResearchInstitute - Ritsumeikan University

To undertake research jointly with the staff and academics from various
fields such as peace and human rights.

Human Rights Research Laboratory Tenri University

To investigate, research, collect publications, and publish books andpapers related to human rights.

Human Rights Center - Kyoto Sangyo
University

To hold seminars for promoting human rights education, and to provide
human rights books and audio-visual resources.

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Center for Christian Culture Doshisha University

To provide various programs such as music concerts and programs forstudents, staff and the public in order for them to come together.

International Human Rights Center Kanagawa University

1. To establish a network among students, lawyers, local government
officials, NGO/NPO workers, citizens, and to research and practice humanrights issues;
2. To protect socially weak people.

Institute of Global Concern (IGC) Sophia University

1. To raise the consciousness of students and the wider society regarding
the promotion of social justice;
2. To apply interdisciplinary inquiries into issues of justice in today’schanging world to both the education of Sophia students and its practicalactivities (primarily refugee assistance).

One notes that human rights centers exist only in few national andpublic universities. Only two national universities (Tokyo University and
Hokkaido University), and two public universities (Osaka Metropolitan
University and Hiroshima City University) have established human rights
centers. Probably because they are owned by central and local governments,
many other national and public universities do not yet recognize humanrights as an academic field. In this case, they probably do not find a justification for the establishment of a university-based/academic human rights
center.
However, aside from human rights centers, there are also universitybased human rights committees. These committees are found in all categories of universities and have the authority to discuss and resolve humanrights issues within the university. They work on complaints involving discrimination, harassment (academic and sexual harassment), bullying, violence, privacy, etc. Table 3 provides the list of committees found in university
websites. This is a list of universities that have not established human rights
centers, but have created human rights committees. These committees holdseminars and symposiums related to human rights for the university staff,
students and general public.
Table 3. Human rights committees in the Universities
N/P

University

Committee

Main Research
AreaOsaka University

Human Rights
Issue Committee

Dowa issues, andother human rights
issuesSymposium on human rights issues

NN

Osaka Kyoiku
University

Promoting Human
Rights Committee

Dowa issues, andother human rights
issuesSymposium on human rights issues forstudents and staff

Activities

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Saga University

Promoting Human
Rights Committee

Gender, Buraku
issues, humanrights issues

Symposium on human rights issues, andopen seminars for citizens

N

Kyoto University

Human Rights
Committee

Dowa issues, andother human rights
issuesBooks and references related to Dowa
issues, and human rights issues at
library

Human Rights
Committee,
counseling staff
of human rights
issuesHarassment,
human rights
violations

Counseling, harassment, consultant of
human rights abuse, library

PInternational
Christian
University

Showa University

Promoting Human
Rights Committee

General humanrights issues (suchas handicap,
disability)

Seminar on promoting human rights,
publishing leaflets

P

Meiji University

Human Rights
Committee

General humanrights issues(gender, equality,
peace education)

Symposium on human rights issues, 2times a year

P

Rikkyo University

Committee on
Human Rights andHarassment

General humanrights issues,
harassment, humanrights abuse

Symposium on human rights issues, anddealing with human rights abuse andharassment

P

Otani University

Human Rights
Education
Committee

Human rights
education

Symposium on human rights education
for students

P

Osaka Universityof Arts

Promoting Human
Rights Committee

Advertisingpromoting humanrights words

Seminar and showing films abouthuman rights issues, advertising thehuman rights words, using Twitter tospread the informationP

St Andrew’s
University

Promoting Human
Rights Issues
Committee

Human rights
abuse

Seminar about human rights issues,
publishing report about the activities
related to human rights issues

P

BukkyoUniversity

Human Rights
Education Center

Human Rights
Education

Promoting human rights, setting library,
consultation

P

Kyoto Koka
Women’s
University

Human Rights
CenterSports and Human
Rights, Gender

Symposium on human rights issues, anddealing with human rights abuse andharassment

P

Kio University

Promoting Human
Rights Committee

Education

Symposium on human rights issues
for staff

Otemon Gakuin
University

Promoting Human
Rights Committee

Human Rights
Abuse, Promoting
Human Rights(no information on activities since 2014)

PP

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Human Rights Education Practices in Japanese Universities
Based on the data gathered in the online survey, the author chose eight
universities belonging to all categories which offer university-wide humanrights courses for further research. The author interviewed seven instructors and one administrative staff in the eight universities. Information onsuch practices were not available in university websites and syllabuses.
On the themes covered by the human rights courses, the interviewees
identified not only Buraku issues, but also issues on peace. The discussion ofpeace issues is linked to human rights issues in the context of the droppingof atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the World War II. Thisis unique in Japan when compared to issues taken up in other countries.
University A in Hiroshima is an example of teaching the peace issue. The
instructor asks students to visit one of the peace memorials and write a report on the visit. This assignment requires the students to personally visit
the place and learn its history. This can be done in Japan since it is the only
country in the world that experienced atomic bombing.
The interviews likewise covered the teaching methods employed by the
instructors in their human rights courses.
Practices in University A
University A is located in Hiroshima city, also known as a Peace City,
where an atomic bomb was dropped for the first time ever in 1945. The city
subsequently adopted the principle of “Freedom and Peace.” One of the five
mission statements of University A is about the promotion of the “spirit ofpeace.” In order to achieve this mission, several liberal arts subjects related
to peace are being offered for first- and second-year students in the university, such as “Hiroshima and Peace,” “Peace and Human Beings” and “Peaceand Human Rights.” The author asked an instructor about the practice of thethird subject called, “Peace and Human Rights - Perspective of Globalization
and Gender … a compulsory subject for 1st year undergraduate students.”
The instructor said that instructors decide on the teaching method to use
due to lack of teaching guideline from the university. She decided to use thediscussion method. The university does not provide the guidelines on whatshould be included and how to teach peace and human rights. She made her
own lesson guided by the curriculum and mission of the university.

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H U M A N R I G H T S E D U C AT I O N I N A S I A - PA C I F I C · V O L U M E 1 3 , 2 0 2 3This was the reason for the decision of the instructor in teaching the
topic from the perspective of gender because this was her specialty. She
made a portfolio for each student so that they could use it during the classand keep it as their record. The number of students who take the course varied depending on the year, for example, the number ranged from ninety-fiveto three hundred students. She gave lectures with accompanying student
discussion exercise. Since the class size was big, she divided the students
into small groups for discussion. She also tasked the students to go to oneof the peace memorials either in Hiroshima or Nagasaki by themselves andwrite what they learned by visiting them.
In her lectures, she raised issues regarding poverty, lgbt, children andwomen, among others. After teaching various topics, she asked the students
to choose the most interesting topics and research on them in group. Eachstudent had to write an individual report as a final assignment. Although
the class was big (with about a hundred students on average), the instructorused a teaching technique to make students learn by themselves (such as bymaking them write their reflections on what they learned from the class).
Practices in University B
The author interviewed an instructor who teaches “Human Rights andPeace” course. This is the course for any undergraduate students, but a lot ofstudents taking this course are freshmen. Ideally, this course should be taken after students have studied the “Japanese Constitution.” The course canaccomodate one hundred twenty students, and an average of sixty to one
hundred students take the course. The main topics are human rights, peace,and human rights history. Students are required to think about the relationship between human rights and peace throughout the course. There is noprescribed textbook, but handouts are distributed in each class. Lectures
are mainly given in the class and the choice of topics is flexible dependingon the world events being reported at the time and students’ interest suchas gender and human rights, lgbt, equality, disability, freedom of expression, hate speech, and others. For assessment, students are required to write
reports (four to five reports), and take a final examination. Attendance inclass is also considered. This course aims at not only making students gain
knowledge of human rights but also develop a thinking that human rights
issues are their own issues as well.

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Practices in University C
The author interviewed an instructor who taught the course “Human
Rights and Gender.” This course is part of the human rights course that has
been officially approved by the university. According to the instructor, while
serious human rights incidents do not seem to exist in Kanazawa city, where
the university is located, gender issues are evident. People in the city tend
to have a male-dominated society mindset. This dominance of men in thesociety requires the need to raise awareness of gender equality in the society.
This provides a context to the “Human Rights and Gender” course.
The human rights course is a compulsory subject for around 1,200 students in the university. With this large number, ten classes are offered withan average of one hundred twenty students taking the course in each class.
The course is handled by four instructors, who have different specialties or
issues of focus. Thus, the course also includes discussions on disabilities,
human rights system and various human rights issues aside from the genderissue. Instructors use textbooks that they wrote and published themselves.
This means that the course contents are dependent on the instructors’ specialties, and instructors teach students human rights issues by using theirown publications.
Also, in the university, active learning is recommended as pedagogy
in teaching the course. The instructor interviewed by the author asks students to write the definition of human rights using comment sheet, organizes group discussions, and requires group presentations and discussions
in class. For assessment, students choose one topic they find interesting, andwrite about what they learn in the class. The instructor faces the challenge ofraising the students’ motivation in learning the subject. The instructor uses
YouTube videos on the latest news in order to engage the students in classand get them interested in starting a discussion.
Practices in University D
In the 1970s, a student in University D complained about a statement ina textbook that declared, “Political community is like Buraku community.”
The student complained that this statement was not right because the political community and Buraku community did not have the same meaning. The
student thought that equating “political community” with “Buraku community” would give negative connotation to the latter. The university accepted
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become aware of Buraku issues. This incident started the support of theuniversity to human rights education.
The university developed an intensive human rights course held on two
Saturdays in May and June for a total of four sessions. An average of forty
students takes the course every year, and many of them are taking literature,
education and agriculture as their major.
Lecture is the main mode of teaching, with the latest news as teachingmaterial. Students choose topics that they are interested in from newspapers, paste newspaper clippings on the board in the classroom, and express
their thoughts about them. The instructor tries to encourage the students
to be as active as possible inside the classroom. Students are expected torecognize human rights issues as their own issues. Reference books are also
introduced on various issues including Buraku, hate speech, Hansen’s disease, gender discrimination, bullying, and others. Students fill out a review
sheet at the end of the class and prepare a required final report. The final
report has to answer the following questions:1.
2.

Why are Buraku issues being taught in schools?
Based on what the students learned about the issues, explain thesocial structure that causes discrimination.

In the past, students wrote the following statements:
I have never learned Buraku discrimination before. This is
the first time that I learned the Buraku issue, and found this issue an important one.
Students raised different topics and issues. A lot of students pointed outthat we had to know the facts about discrimination, and education has animportant role in order to do this.
The instructor has difficulty motivating students to study human rights,
but continues nevertheless with the course.
There were several other challenges raised in teaching human rights in
University D. Students who aim to obtain a teachers’ license are required totake a human rights course. Thus, some students take the course because itHuman Rights Education in Japanese Universities: Challenges and Suggestions

177

is a required course, and not because they are interested in human rights.
They lack the motivation to learn about human rights. Another issue isabout instructors put in charge of the human rights course. They are parttime lecturers who face difficulty in sharing human rights knowledge andexperience due to limited time available for teaching.
Practices in University E
Nagasaki has three big human rights issues, namely, Buraku, Atomic
Bomb, and “hidden” Christians (Kakure Kirishitan).19 In western Japan, human rights courses are typically taken by students who are in teacher training. In University E, the human rights course is a mandatory course for 3rdyear students who study in the education department. The author interviewed an instructor who has been teaching the human rights course formore than twenty years. The instructor notes that students at present study
human rights in relation to issues that were not existing before such as covid-19. In 2023, new issues like the covid-19 pandemic were added in thelist of present human rights issues.
University E is located near a Buraku area that makes it easy for students to think about Buraku issues. Each class has an average of one hundred thirty students. The course content include human rights in generalsuch as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, definition of humanrights, United Nations and individual issues such as Buraku, LGBT, nonJapanese living in Japan, hate speech and Ainu issues. The course employs
lecture and group discussions. In group discussions, students play different
roles such as leader, presenter and others. Normally a group of five to six
students work together and share their discussion summaries in the class.
For assessment, students write a report answering this question: “Whatkind of human rights education is ideal?” Besides the final report, students
are required to write two essays in the middle of the course. The first essay is
about the students’ impression on human rights after reading the textbookof the course. The second essay summarizes the human rights education in
students’ hometown; this refers to each student’s human rights education
experience in school.
Practices in University F
University F offers a “Human Rights Education” course. Normally, forty
to fifty students join the course. The instructor, who is from Nepal, uses the

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technique of giving lectures and making students discuss issues. This classis unique as non-Japanese and Japanese students learn together in English.
The instructor introduces quizzes and makes own handout for students tomaintain students’ concentration on the classes.
The instructor considers human rights as a key topic for students fromdifferent backgrounds to start discussing. She designed the course in a waythat not only makes students seek knowledge but also make them express
their views on the topics. She mainly uses the latest news reports. She introduces human rights activities to explain ongoing issues and how to tackle
them. She raises topics such as cultural relativism, refugee, women’s rights,
child rights, genocide and terrorism. At the end of the class, students watch
a video on the Rwanda genocide and other videos to make the students understand what is happening in the world.
Practices in University G
University G offers seventeen courses on human rights for the firstand second year students. The courses are held on Fridays. None of thesecourses are compulsory. The courses have about one hundred fifty students
in one class. Also, if students want, she allows the students to do fieldwork
during the course. Examinations are given to assess learning, but she gives
some questions beforehand so the students can prepare before the test. The
contents of the course include the universal concept and history of humanrights. She also teaches the human rights mechanisms and provides the latest information related to human rights. She teaches not only the universal character of human rights but also specific human rights issues such as
Buraku and gender issues. Since the number of students is big, she gives lectures in class. She makes the effort of making students understand not only
the universal dimension of human rights but also the specific human rights
issues. She also teaches human rights theory alongside human rights issues,and gives students examples and problems to think about and discuss.
Practices in University H
The author also interviewed the administrative staff member of a private university about human rights courses. She was a chief member of thehuman rights center and the human rights courses team representing theuniversity administration. The university committed in the 1970s to solve the
Buraku discrimination incidents that occurred not only in its EngineeringHuman Rights Education in Japanese Universities: Challenges and Suggestions

179

Department but also in the dormitories of the Departments of Sociology
and of Economics and Business. In the engineering department, an instructor made discriminatory statements during a lecture. In the dormitories,
discriminatory graffiti was found. Since then, the students demanded theoffering of human rights courses and holding of seminars to address theissues. In response, the university established a human rights center to undertake research and education activities to address the problems.
Human Rights Courses started to be offered in 2009, along with
about fourteen other courses related to human rights. The Human Rights
Courses have four themes including the Buraku issue, Sexuality, Disability
and Women. The instructors of the Courses choose one of the four themes
for their classes. The Courses are part of the liberal arts subjects (similar
to General Education) that students at any year level and specialty could
take. But they are not compulsory subjects for the students. There are no
guidelines regarding contents and methods of teaching the Human Rights
Courses. The instructors make their own decision on what and how to teachthe courses.
The number of students in each course varies from ten to one hundred. The method is mainly giving lecture, but some instructors invite guest
speakers or take students on field trips to learn from the sites being visited.
Assessment is mainly done by examination, but participation is evaluated aswell. The instructor’s fields of expertise are varied - international law, minority studies, social welfare and others.
Besides these courses, the university holds a faculty development activity once a year for those teaching human rights courses. During the activity, instructors share what the students found interesting in the topics andmethods of teaching. The university also holds training sessions on humanrights for members of the staff and the students twice a year. About sixty to
one hundred members of the staff and students participated in these sessions annually. A separate training for all the new members of the staff isheld in order to enhance their awareness of human rights.
Analysis of Human Rights Education Practices in Japanese Universities
Human rights education practices in Japanese universities can partly beanalyzed based on information from eight universities in different parts ofthe country.

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H U M A N R I G H T S E D U C AT I O N I N A S I A - PA C I F I C · V O L U M E 1 3 , 2 0 2 3The eight universities offer different human rights courses, whose components and other characteristics are summarized below:
•

•
•
•
•

Topics: Peace, Buraku/Dowa issue, human rights history, humanrights movement, Zainichi Koreans (ethnic Koreans who are permanent residents in Japan), lgbt, global society and human rights,
child rights, bullying, issues related to disabilities, women’s rights,
sexuality, etc.;
Number of students in class: The number of students attending human rights courses range from ten to two hundred, depending on
the type of course involved;
Assessment: students are assessed through examinations, reports
or short essays, etc.;
Outcome: Students become aware of discrimination and the realities about it (appreciation of the facts involved);
Teaching Methods: the instructors give lectures, engage students
in group discussions, invite guest speakers, do fieldtrips, and use
videos (available online) and newspapers as teaching materials.

The instructors and staff members of the universities confirm that they
themselves choose topics and teaching methods in the courses. The teaching methods allow students to participate in the class actively, and help themto learn about human rights issues through a variety of means.
A lot of the courses are aimed at developing the thinking among students that human rights issues are their own issues as well. However, there
are other problems such as the tendency of some courses to focus on learning facts, not aimed at learning the individual rights, and not developing theconcept of taking action to solve current problems for a better society. Theselimitations mean the lack of intention to empower students.
Some Japanese universities treat human rights education as a compulsory subject, but the universities do not provide guidelines for teaching
human rights. Also, while the human rights courses are compulsory, theinstructors face the challenge of lack of interest on human rights among
students. As a consequence, students take the courses because they are required and not due to personal interest on human rights. This makes it difficult for the instructors to motivate students.

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Universities in the Kansai region, where the Buraku/Dowa issue is morewell-known, are the most active in offering human rights courses for undergraduate students.
The university human rights centers play a significant role in promoting
human rights through research and educational initiatives. The online survey of human rights centers reveals several characteristics of these centers.
First, as summarized in Tables 1 and 2, their research on human rights
issues focuses on issues on the local area where they operate, such as Ainu
culture, US military base in Okinawa and Buraku. For example, the Center
for Ainu and Indigenous Studies at Hokkaido University focuses on Ainu
and other indigenous peoples. The Hiroshima Peace Institute at Hiroshima
City University focuses on peace and abolition of nuclear weapons. There
are a few centers that research on global human rights issues, such as refugees. The International Human Rights Center in Kanagawa University focuses not only on domestic human rights issues but also on broader humanrights issues in the world. They research on international human rights issues and involve people in the university and ngo/npo and the citizens tothink about their solutions.
There is little indication that the research of the centers on local humanrights issues is undertaken in cooperation with other human rights centersor with regional or international organizations, such as the United Nations,in order to address the issues from an international perspective.
This tendency leads to the weakness of human rights education in
Japanese universities: focus on domestic issues, especially on the various
forms of discrimination which occur in the different regions of the country,
and the lack of connection with organizations inside and outside Japan.
Second, the human rights courses being offered are not always part of
the activities of the centers. This implies that instructors individually offer
human rights courses, and not necessarily as part of a center’s program. The
human rights centers mainly undertake research and hold seminars for the
public, university staff and students. The topics of research and seminars
are not always directly related to the educational programs and courses forstudents. The human rights center websites explain the center program, activities and research areas but fail to present the human rights courses forstudents on the same page. In some universities, human rights courses areoffered separate from the centers.

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Third, the content of human rights courses being offered connected tothe centers is dependent on the area of research of the instructors rather
than based on a broader education program that covers the general humanrights issues and systems. This can be seen in the focus on domestic humanrights issues, such as the Buraku/Dowa issue, the lack of understanding ofindividual rights and lack of attention to discussion of solutions to humanrights issues. Also, instructors do not have much chance to share their practices among fellow instructors in the university, or to link up with instructors in other fields. The instructors are forced to plan the courses by themselves. A good example mentioned earlier that can address this issue is theFaculty Development and Staff Training for raising human rights awarenessin a private university. This program can help instructors in the university towork together for human rights education.
The online survey used here to collect information and to select universities to visit to obtain additional information prevents the making of a general conclusion on human rights education in Japanese universities. Further
research and literature review are necessary.
Also, the online survey used only “Human Rights” as key words. Usingother key words related to human rights such as gender, child rights, education, and others can provide more information on characteristics and challenges in human rights education programs in Japanese universities.
A Proposal
The findings of the survey of university human rights education programs
present a number of issues on the human rights content as well as the pedagogy being employed. They highlight the limitations as well as the goodpractices in teaching human rights in Japanese universities. These survey
findings, therefore, serve as bases for developing a good university humanrights education program.
Below is a proposal on what should constitute a university human rights
education program:(1) Name of the Program: Multicultural Coexistence and Human Rights
Education(2) Purpose and Outline of the Program:

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This program covers knowledge, skills and behavior needed to become global citizens by learning under the theme, “Multicultural coexistence and human rights.” Students will learn and discuss various
topics such as human rights history, multicultural coexistence, outcast
people, indigenous people, war and peace, gender, LGBT and others.
This course aims to apply human rights knowledge in analyzing
various topics, discussing and writing about human rights issues frompersonal perspective, and develop a plan on taking action on humanrights issues. The program also aims to create a classroom environment,
where students learn from each other by knowing each other’s views
and taking them into consideration. More specifically, the programaims to allow the students to participate as facilitators in group discussions, and leaders in making group presentations.
(3) Study Goal
The program aims
1. To deepen understanding of human rights and how to cooperatewith others in a multicultural society;2. To develop skills in expressing views and listening to others’ views;
3. To acquire skills to think creatively and critically;
4. To develop skills and perspectives on active participation in theclassroom and in the society;5. To understand others and ways to cooperate with others in multicultural society;6. To gain the ability to take action and practice human rights inreality.
(4) Important points in teaching practice:
1. Approach the learning of human rights from not only universal but
also from individual and regional perspectives;
2. In order for students to be active, give students tasks and examples
to make them think of the issues as their own;
3. Set classroom rules that establish a human rights culture by discussing what is necessary to make this happen with the students;
4. Aim at changing the society in a better way and coexisting withpeople of different backgrounds.

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H U M A N R I G H T S E D U C AT I O N I N A S I A - PA C I F I C · V O L U M E 1 3 , 2 0 2 3(5) Teaching methods:
Lectures, classroom discussion, video viewing, fieldtrips, interacting with guest lecturers and other methods will be part of the teaching
methods in the program. After each class, students review their study
outcome and write their thoughts in a portfolio so that they record theirlearning and compile them at the end of the course.
(6) Number of participants
In order to ensure effective classroom discussion, a class size of lessthan thirty students is an ideal number that allows instructors to handle
the class better. Having more than thirty students in class limits theinteraction of students with each other, and of the students with theteacher. Also, discussion groups with five to six members in each group
allow more participation for students.
Since students have their own experience related to human rights
and since the classroom can become a “human library,” students canshare experiences and learn from each other. For assessment purposes,
the students discuss human rights problems and practical solutions inwriting. This supports human rights education that does not only aim
at learning human rights knowledge but also related skills and attitude.
(7) Assessment (if necessary)
As shown in the following criteria, grading is based on regular attendance and active performance in each discussion:• Participation in the class (20 percent)• Worksheet and Review Sheet (30 percent)• Group Presentation and Peer Review (30 percent)• Test or Report (20 percent).
(8) Evaluation of participants’ study outcome:
Evaluation of the progress of students’ learning is necessary. A
questionnaire can be used for this purpose.
This program can be used in different education levels - primary,secondary and tertiary levels, or even for adults. This program is forstudents/participants to recognize human rights issues as their own,
and share their experiences to understand the reality. In the end, stu-

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dents/participants think about the solutions, and take action to createa society where people can cooperate with each other and show respectfor multicultural perspectives.
Conclusions
The analysis of the results of research and survey identifies the challenges
and suggestions for human rights education in Japanese universities.
First, human rights education in Japanese universities tends to focus on
individual issues, and lack the universal dimension of human rights. Humanrights education should include not only local issues such as discrimination,
atomic weapons, natural disasters and rights of individuals but also the history of human rights, and theory and philosophy of human rights.
Second, human rights education in Japanese universities tends to focus
on learning facts. It should teach how to analyze problems and find solutions by themselves. Also, it is important to empower them by providing
knowledge of their individual rights.
Third, there should be human rights degree programs at university level
in Japan. This requires Japanese universities to have more academics to doresearch and human rights education. Human rights should be recognized
as a separate academic field. It is important that research outcome and educational practices are shared among universities, human rights centers andeven individual researchers.
Lastly, it is important to provide a guideline for human rights educationin higher education in Japan that universities can follow in setting the curriculum and instructors can make the course programs according to it. This
gives university instructors the guide on what to teach and how to promote
human rights education in Japanese universities.
Throughout this article, the author explains the situation of humanrights education in Japanese universities, identifies the challenges and weaknesses, and finds ways of improving them. The conclusion may not be particularly new, but if the suggestions are taken into consideration among theJapanese universities, human rights education in higher education of Japan
will be changed. Since the final goal of human rights education is to provide
people with the knowledge, skills and behavior supporting human rights,

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this will empower people to create a society where they respect each otheraccording to human rights principle.
Endnotes
1 See World Programme for Human Rights Education, www.
ohchr.org/en/resources/e duc ators/human-r ight s -e duc ation- training/world-programme-human-rights-education.
2 See II. Youth empowerment through human rights education: plan of action for the fourth phase (2020–2024) of the World Programme for Human Rights
Education, www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/2022-10/OHCHR-OSGEY-UNESCOWorld_Programme-for-Human-Rights-Education_Fourth-Phase.pdf.
3 II. Youth empowerment through human rights education: plan of action
for the fourth phase (2020–2024) of the World Programme for Human Rights
Education, ibid.
4 Ibid.
5 SDG 4.4 states as target the ensuring of “equal access for all women and men
to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including
university.”
6 学校における人権教育：文部科学省, www.mext.go.jp. This is the website of
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, which explains theobjectives and important points in practicing human eights education at school.
7 Hirasawa, pages 18-19.
8 “Buraku people are a Japanese social minority group, ethnically and linguistically indistinguishable from other Japanese people. They face discrimination in
Japan because of an association with work once considered impure, such as butchering animals or tanning leather.” See International Movement Against All Forms ofDiscrimination and Racism, www.imadr.org/sayama/buraku.html.
9 Mori, pages 10-11.
10 Ikuta, http://mailsrv.nara-edu.ac.jp/~ikuta/research1.html.
11 Ikuta, page 18.
12 Sowa, page 64.
13 Itayama, pages 64-65.
14 Itayama, page 6.
15 Kumamoto, pages 17-19.
16 Akuzawa, pages 39-49. For more discussion on university courses on humanrights in Southeast Asia, read Mike Hayes, “Developing Networks of Human Rights
Teaching Universities in the Asia-Pacific: The Establishment of SEAHRN and AUNHRE,” Human Rights Education in Asia-Pacific, volume nine, 2019, www.hurights.
or.jp/archives/asia-pacific/section1/hreap_v9_formal_education.pdf.
17 Majima, page 120.
18 The term “enlightenment” (啓発) is frequently used as English translation ofpromoting human rights and awareness-raising on human rights.

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19 Watch “The secret world of Japan’s ‘Hidden Christians’,” for a short introduction to the “hidden Christians in Japan. bbc, www.bbc.com/reel/video/p0b3frjr/
the-secret-world-of-japan-s-hidden-christians-.

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