Advanced Seminar on the Japanese Economy
Ryoichi Imai
International Student Center, Kyushu University
2003/03/19
Contents
II. Organization, Attendance, and Other Requirements
III. Textbooks
IV. Pre-requisites
VI. Course Schedule
VII. Readings
This course focuses on current issues in the Japanese economy. Course attendants are expected to discuss contemporary issues such as the bad-loan problem, deflation, the structural reform, accumulated government bonds, the ever-appreciating Yen syndrome, unemployment of young workers, parasite-singles, and delayed marriage. Core reading materials are available only in Japanese.
The course consists of a series of students' presentation and class discussions based on the core readings assigned in advance of each class. The course is intended to enable students to make grammatically-correct oral presentations and writings in Japanese, as well as to develop analytical skills in using Japanese texts for their own research.
II. Organization, Attendance, and Other Requirements
The course consists of one 90-minute session over the course of 15 weeks. The class runs with reading and exploring Japanese language materials relating to key issues in the Japanese economy.
Satisfactory class attendance is essential. The minimum attendance requirement is to be specified.
The participants are required to be accustomed to construct their own arguments on the logically consistent ways of thinking. So it is crucial to fully understand the basics of modern economics, although they are not expected to posses any knowledge about the subject before the class starts.
Attendants are seriously recommended to watch as many Japanese TV programs as possible, in order to familiarize themselves with the current issues in question. The instructor will provide as many opportunities as possible to see some famous TV programs such as "The Project X" and "NHK Specials".
III. Textbooks
Readings are provided each week for translation and preparation in advance of the next session.
IV. Pre-requisites
Japanese language Proficiency equivalent to levels 4 to 5 in the Kyushu University Japanese Language Courses, or by permission of the Instructor
Class Discussion 20%
Presentation 40%
Written Final Examination or "Report" 40%
VI. Course Schedule
Navigating the Basic Readings from newspapers and magazines.
VII. Readings
Basic Readings to be selected for the class discussion
日本経済新聞
吉野直行他（2000）『英語で学ぶ日本の金融』（Economic Issues in Contemporary Japan）、有斐閣
Magazines and Journals
Advanced Readings for Individual Research
1. Ever-Appreciating Yen Syndrome
McKinnon and Ohno [1998] マッキノン／大野健一『円とドル』（日本経済新聞社）
2. The Deflation and the Role of Monetary Policy
Ito, Takatoshi [2001] 伊藤隆敏『インフレ・ターゲティング』（日本経済新聞社）
Fukao, Mitsuhiro [2002] 深尾光洋『日本破綻』（講談社現代新書）
Komiya, Ryutaro [2002] 小宮隆太郎＋日本経済研究センター『金融政策論議の争点』（日本経済新聞社）
3. The Bad-Loan Problem
Kobayashi and Kato [2001] 小林慶一郎･加藤創太『日本経済の罠』（日本経済新聞社）
4. The Structure Reform
To be announced.
5. The Parasite Single and Unemployment of Youth
Yamada, Masahiro [1999] 山田昌弘『パラサイト・シングルの時代』（ちくま新書）
Genda, Yuji [2001] 玄田有史『仕事のなかの曖昧な不安』（中央公論新社）
6. The Marriage and Childbirth for Men and Women in Thirties
Ueno Chizuko [2002] 上野千鶴子『サヨナラ学校化社会』（太郎次郎社）
Ueno and Chigura [2002] 上野千鶴子・小倉千加子『ザ・フェミニズム』（筑摩書房）
Sechiyama [2002] 瀬地山 角『お笑いジェンダー論』（けいそう書房・漢字が正しく変換されない）
Yamada, Masahiro [2001] 山田昌弘『家族というリスク』（けいそう書房）
7. Inequality and Social Class
Sato Toshiki [1999] 佐藤俊樹『不平等社会日本』（中公新書）
Yakeuchi Yo [1995] 竹内洋『日本のメリトクラシー』（東京大学出版会）
Kariya Takehiko [2001] 苅谷剛彦『階層化日本と教育危機』（有信堂高文社）
Kariya Takehiko [2002] 苅谷剛彦（2002）『教育改革の幻想』
Yano Masakazu [2001] 矢野真和『教育社会の設計』（東京大学出版会）