Jun 11, 2022

Let’s Read! Learning Japanese through Science & Technology-2

This is the second part of our Japanese language learning courses. It focuses on improving Japanese reading comprehension through vocabulary and expressions retention, with a theme of Science and Engineering research at the University of Tokyo. In addition to reading, illustration videos and interview videos allow you to practise "listening" and "writing" skills. You can also broaden and deepen your knowledge in the related areas.

FURUICHI Yumiko (Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo)

Mar 4, 2019

Contemporary Japanese Society: What Has Been Happening Behind Demographic Change?

The main aim of this course is to give an overview of how contemporary Japanese society has been stratified, from the perspective of changing demographic, familial, and socio-economic structure. Basic statistics will be presented to provide a concrete idea of the changes that have taken place in Japan. By the end of the course, students should have an awareness of similarities and differences across nations regarding social issues including ageing population, gender gaps in work and family, and socio-economic inequalities.

SHIRAHASE Sawako (Professor, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, The University of Tokyo)

Nov 18, 2015

Welcome to Game Theory

This course provides a brief introduction to game theory. Our main goal is to understand the basic ideas behind the key concepts in game theory, such as equilibrium, rationality, and cooperation. The course uses very little mathematics, and it is ideal for those who are looking for a conceptual introduction to game theory. Business competition, political campaigns, the struggle for existence by animals and plants, and so on, can all be regarded as a kind of “game,” in which individuals try to do their best against others. Game theory provides a general framework to describe and analyze how individuals behave in such “strategic” situations. This course focuses on the key concepts in game theory, and attempts to outline the informal basic ideas that are often hidden behind mathematical definitions. Game theory has been applied to a number of disciplines, including economics, political science, psychology, sociology, biology, and computer science. Therefore, a warm welcome is extended to audiences from all fields who are interested in what game theory is all about.

Nov 10, 2015

Visualizing Postwar Tokyo, Part 1

Tokyo emerged out of the ruins of war to become a large city of 10 million people in only a quarter of a century. During this process of change, the capital of a military empire that once invaded East Asia experienced occupation by the U.S. armed forces, hosted the Olympic Games, and transformed into a consumer hub where young people could enjoy economic “wealth.” It is important to know that this process was recorded in countless photographs, documentary films, TV programs, and so on. We will retrieve many of these archived pictures and videos and analyze what happened in postwar Tokyo from different perspectives. In Part 1, you will look at the changes that occurred in postwar Tokyo over a quarter of a century from four different perspectives: 1) occupation and Americanism; 2) imperial gaze and royal wedding; 3) The Olympic city; and 4) economic-cultural clash in Shinjuku. This examination of urban history will provide you with the insights necessary when considering changes in other large cities in Asia, such as Seoul, Beijing, and Bangkok, at the end of the twentieth century.

YOSHIMI Shunya (Professor, Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies, The University of Tokyo)