Waseda Winter SessionWaseda University

This course examines strategic decision-making and innovation in Japanese firms, using case studies of leading companies to explore transformation, digitalization, and long-term strategic thinking.

This course will examine how cultural factors influence management practices, communication, leadership, and teamwork in and with Japanese organizations. It will compare Japanese management and workplace culture with other countries and discuss the implications for international collaboration and global business.

This course is centered round an interdisciplinary area studies (specifically Japanese studies) approach to studying Japanese popular culture. It is divided into three main sections. For its conceptual and theoretical approach, the Japanese studies course employs area studies perspectives in ethnography, globalization studies, historical perspectives and cultural studies to examine the subject matter. In examining the ideas of globalization, the course critically looks at the ethnography and ecology of creative production. In terms of mechanisms of dissemination, it then examines how globalization facilitated the popularity and proliferation of Japanese ACG (Anime, Comics, Games) products.

This course introduces the historical and sociocultural development of present Japanese management practices and systems. It aims to equip students with better understanding of Japanese business people, to establish mutual understanding, and to help students learn to collaborate with staff from Japan so as to achieve common objectives. The organization of the course is chronological starting from Japanese management’s basic features to revisiting its sustained and continued applicability and finally to cutting edge contemporary ideas. It is a broad survey intended for class participants with no prior knowledge of management theories or Japanese studies beyond the usual terms encountered in the mass media and some acquisitions of new terminologies. The course will emphasis the cultural perspectives of Japanese corporate culture and rituals found in a collectivist/groupist/communitarian setting.

Using novels and films from the period covering 1945 to the 1970s, this course will introduce students to the major historical, intellectual, and artistic currents of postwar Japan. Authors and filmmakers will include Dazai Osamu, Hayashi Fumiko, Sakaguchi Ango, Mishima Yukio, Oe Kenzaburo, Kurosawa Akira, Ozu Yasujiro, Ichikawa Kon, Oshima Nagisa, and Suzuki Seijun. Students are expected to read one novel each week.

This course will examine the works of the novelist Murakami Haruki and the animator Miyazaki Hayao within the context of contemporary Japanese aesthetics and history. Both Murakami and Miyazaki debuted in 1979 and their work has very much defined Japan’s cultural experience from the tail end of the Era of High Growth Economics through the Bubble Era, the Lost Decade, and into the twenty-first century. Students will be expected to read one novel a week and we will be watching one film per week (in class). Students are expected to have completed reading before each class meeting.

Students will explore the works of these two figures in the context of the history of Japanese literature and film and its relation to larger political, social, and cultural trends of Japan from the 1980s to the present.

Currently under preparation. Please wait for updates.

Choose 2 courses out of 6 courses.

The student’s academic performance is assessed according to four different criteria: class participation, attendance, assignments and exams. Each professor, however, may prefer a different attendance policy, and in such case, students should follow the professor’s guidelines. Generally, course performance is graded on the following 100-point scale:

Grading is professor’s authority and privilege that the Summer Session office cannot interfere with.

Credit System

Students can earn 2 credits through 1 regular course. Each class is 100 minutes long and held 14 times. This means that it is necessary for students to attend each course for a total of 23.3 hours (1,400 minutes (100 minutes ×14 times)) to earn 2 credits.

Credit Transfer

Waseda University will issue an official academic transcript for the participants. We will send it to the designated address around the middle of September. Students who wish to transfer the Winter Session program credits are advised to consult with the appropriate academic authorities at their home institutions in advance, whether or not the home institutions are Waseda’s exchange partners. The home institution’s academic advisors decide whether a particular Waseda Winter Session course may be applied towards the major or elective requirement. Students usually refer to the uploaded syllabus on our Waseda Winter Session website to determine credit transferability to their home institution.

Kusatsu Field Trip *Two-days Trip（Mandatory）

Date: January 15 Friday – 16 Saturday,2027.

The Kusatsu Hot Spring Field Trip is one of the highlight activities offered by this program. This two-days bus trip takes participants to the Kusatsu area, where they will explore some of the region’s most iconic natural and cultural landmarks. The itinerary includes a visit to Yamba Dam, offering insights into large-scale infrastructure development, as well as the lava fields of Mount Asama, where participants can observe the dynamic volcanic landscape shaped by past eruptions. The trip concludes with an immersive experience in Kusatsu Hot Spring, one of Japan’s most famous onsen destinations, allowing participants to experience traditional Japanese hot spring culture.

Participation in this Kusatsu Field Trip is mandatory in order to receive a certificate of completion for this program.

Takaosan (Mount Takao)　Hiking Tour *One day trip (Optional)

Mt. Takao is famous as a tourist attraction that attracts many visitors because of its beautiful nature in each of the four seasons and its six varied hiking trails. The cable cars and lifts make it easy for anyone to climb the mountain. Come hike in nature with your classmates!
Date and Details will be announced.

Imperial Palace Run (Optional)

We are planning to hold a running event using the outer perimeter of the Imperial Palace (Kokyo in Japanese). Often referred to as the “Kokyo Run” for short, the running course is approximately 5 km per lap. Since it is a circular course, you can start freely from anywhere, and since there are no traffic signals, you can run nonstop. Many people enjoy running at the Imperial Palace, from beginner runners to experienced runners who run full marathons. Come and enjoy running with your classmates!
Date and Details will be announced.