In 2024, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies and the major agency Hakuhodo DY Holdings Inc. started a collaborative project linking education and research on the topic of the Japanese entertainment industry. The project is the brainchild of Nobuyuki “Etsushi” Harada, a former NHK producer who has transitioned into academia (now a specially-appointed researcher at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies and part-time lecturer at various universities in Tokyo). The representatives at Hakuhodo DY Holdings Inc. are Yosuke Kinoshita and Kosuke Ushiro. Philip Seaton is the coordinator at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.
The project has three fundamental pillars:
1) The undergraduate course Entertainment and Life Design Studies (ELDS): This course is taught to TUFS undergraduates in the spring term. The course is taught by Nobuyuki Harada and Philip Seaton. Each week, industry professionals working in the fields of business, entertainment, and Japanese popular culture give guest lectures. The course gives students insights into what it is like working in the culture industries (one of the lectures was by the producer of the hit anime series Girls und Panzer, hence the banner photo). The syllabus for the first course taught during the Spring Term 2024 is here: 19180226-ｷｬﾘｱﾃﾞｻﾞｲﾝ論1
2) A student-driven research project as part of ELDS: A small group of ELDS course students (particularly those interested in working in marketing) design and carry out a questionnaire survey. They analyze the data with the help of the four project leaders (Harada, Kinoshita, Ushiro, and Seaton) and present their findings in the last class of the ELDS course. The students are also invited to present their findings at Hakuhodo DY Holdings Inc. headquarters in central Tokyo. The results of their research are made public via online publication on this webpage.
The results of the 2024 survey are here. Author comments (Japanese only)
3) The Global Japan Research Survey: This is a major international questionnaire carried out by the four project leaders: Nobuyuki Harada, Yosuke Kinoshita, Kosuke Ushiro, and Philip Seaton. The survey assesses the state of Japanese higher education and the Japanese entertainment industry as seen by students around the world with an interest in Japan. The first survey is being carried out in the autumn of 2024. Results will be analyzed and preliminary findings published in early 2025.