Message from the Head of the Degree Program in Applied Japanese Studies

Sayo Tsutsui, Head of the Degree Program in Applied Japanese Studies the Division of Japanese StudiesGraduate School of Humanities

In the Degree Program in Applied Japanese Studies, we aim at fostering the following kinds of individuals:

(1) Researchers to conduct interdisciplinary research into the area of Japanese language and culture with the ability to compare it with other languages and cultures, (2) Teachers who can provide a solid education in Japanese language and culture to international students at the tertiary level based on his/her advanced knowledge in a specialized area, and (3) Internationally-minded and highly-specialized professionals who have a practical ability in planning, designing and conveying aspects of Japanese language and culture. In order to achieve this, we provide an education for students to acquire the following abilities: the ability to research from the viewpoint of comparison between Japanese language and culture and those of other countries; the ability to teach Japanese language and culture to those who have a different mother tongue and culture; and the ability to become a liaison between those of Japanese language and culture and those of other languages and cultures.
We have actually fostered such individuals with these abilities in our past graduate programs, but we are very happy with the newly established the Degree Program in Applied Japanese Studies, as we believe it offers a stronger educational environment both for fostering individuals and enhancing levels of skills, through collaboration and cooperation between our academic staff and the staff at Center for Japanese Language and Culture. We are newly founded, but our programs are actually based on a long and successful history, and we sincerely hope for further development of the Degree Program in Applied Japanese Studies.

April, 2022