This is the course webpage for Introduction to Japanese Society (2024), Friday Period 3.
Syllabus: 19J2003-日本社会入門
Grading Rubric: Introduction to Japanese Society Rubric 2024
Active Learning Hours Portfolio: ALHP for IJS 2024
Class Text:
The following open access book is the basic resource for this course: Statistical Handbook of Japan 2024
Week 1 (4 October) : The Japanese Archipelago – geography, climate, territory
Course explanation. Each class includes the following components:
Lecture: A short lecture (10-25 minutes). The lecture materials (slides and script) are available by clicking the link: IJS2024 Week 01
On-demand materials & discussion time: Read/watch the materials in the on-demand materials pages. You may navigate around the materials page using this navigation bar:
On-demand materials navigation bar: IJS homepage, Wk1, Wk2, Wk3, Wk4, Wk5, Wk6, Wk7, Wk8, Wk9, Wk10, Wk11, Wk12, Wk13
Or use the links in each week below. Discuss in small groups and prepare questions. This week’s materials are here: Wk1.
Q&A: We will have time each week to answer your questions (decided in your groups) about the class materials, and more generally about Japanese society. Ask your questions each week using this Google Form.
Mini-exams: These are 30-minute tests in Weeks 3, 6, 9 and 13. They are the main part of your assessment for the term. See below for the questions.
Week 2 (11 October): Population – population shrinkage, rural depopulation, aging society
Lecture: IJS2024 Week 02 A, IJS2024 Week 02 B
On-demand materials & discussion time: This week’s materials are here: Wk2.
Q&A
Week 3 (18 October): Multicultural Japan – minorities, urban vs rural, prefectural characteristics
Mini exam question 1. Give one concrete advantage and one disadvantage of Japan’s shrinking population. Also, suggest a policy that the Japanese government can introduce to help Japan cope with population shrinkage.
Lecture: IJS2024 Week 03
On-demand materials & discussion time: This week’s materials are here: Wk3.
Q&A
Week 4 (25 October): The State – parliament, bureaucracy, local authorities
Returning Mini-test 1
Lecture: IJS2024 Week 04
On-demand materials & discussion time: This week’s materials are here: Wk4.
Q&A
Week 5 (1 November): The Economy – industry, agriculture, business
Lecture: IJS2024 Week 05, and let’s talk about the election.
On-demand materials & discussion time: This week’s materials are here: Wk5.
Q&A
Week 6 (8 November): Work – full-time work, part-time work, male-female (in)equality
Mini exam question 2. “Japan should introduce quotas so that 50% of MPs in the national parliament are female”. Give some arguments for this statement, and some arguments against it.
Lecture: IJS2024 Week 06
On-demand materials & discussion time: This week’s materials are here: Wk6.
Q&A And the implications of the US presidential elections for Japan …
Week 7 (15 November): Households – family structure, housing, declining birthrates
Returning Mini-test 2 and a quick questionnaire
Lecture: IJS2024 Week 07
On-demand materials & discussion time: Discuss in groups the types of household in this PDF file: IJS2024 Week 07 Household Types. This week’s other materials are here: Wk7.
Q&A
Week 8 (29 November): Class – “middle class Japan”, wealth and poverty
Lecture: IJS2024 Week 08
On-demand materials & discussion time: This week’s materials are here: Wk8.
Q&A
Week 9 (6 December): Education – compulsory education, higher education, qualifications and training
Mini exam question 3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of having private schools in the Japanese education system alongside public schools? Make sure that the following three words appear somewhere in your essay: “wealth”, “fair” (or “fairness”), “social class”.
Lecture: IJS2024 Week 09
On-demand materials & discussion time: This week’s materials are here: Wk9.
Q&A
Week 10 (13 December): Leisure – sport, pop culture, entertainment
Returning Mini-test 3
Lecture: IJS2024 Week 10
On-demand materials & discussion time: This week’s materials are here: Wk10.
Q&A
Active Learning Hours Report Deadline, Friday 13 December, 14:10.
Week 11 (20 December): The Environment – disasters, energy, nature
Lecture: IJS2024 Week 11
On-demand materials & discussion time: This week’s materials are here: Wk11.
Double Degree Materials discussion
Q&A
Week 12 (10 January): The Movement of People – relocation, migration, tourism
Returning ALHP: comments on your performance
Lecture: IJS2024 Week 12
In the year-end news: “Japan logs its hottest year on record in 2024 for 2nd straight year“, “Japan falls behind South Korea in per-capita GDP; 22nd in OECD“, “2024 Rewind: Japan offers unique experiences, faces issues amid record-high tourism“, “Cambodian trainee to sue farm manager in Japan over repeated rapes“.
On-demand materials & discussion time: This week’s materials are here: Wk12.
Q&A
Week 13 (17 January): Japan in International Society – international relations, defense, contributions to international society
Mini exam question 4. What is the number one policy that the Japanese government should introduce in order to combat climate change?
Lecture:
On-demand materials & discussion time: This week’s materials are here: Wk13.
Q&A and Course Wrap-up
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