8 Language Studies Degree Programs in Japan

The Japanese Language Program, offered by the Center for Japanese Language at Waseda University, is a one-year or half-year program to study Japanese language intensively. Through various courses provided in different levels, skills and themes, students can study Japanese language according to their own abilities and goals. Waseda University offers a comprehensive Japanese Language Program designed to help students achieve proficiency in Japanese. The program caters to a wide range of proficiency levels, from beginner to advanced, ensuring that each student receives instruction suited to their current skills.

In 1854, Japan surrendered to the might of Commodore Perry’s Black Ships with the signing of the Convention of Kanagawa, ending the country’s long isolation under sakoku . Proving that such a famous event actually took place requires unearthing numerous historical documents and going through various different steps. To then contextualize the signing of the Convention of Kanagawa within the broad framework of East Asia may bring to light new aspects that differ from previous understanding.

Short-term Japanese Program is organized and run by the center for Japanese Language Waseda University. The goal of this program is to cultivate students’ overall Japanese language ability.

The program aims to provide opportunities for students to study Japanese culture in English. By doing so, students will explore Japanese history, tradition, custom, and ways of thinking from new perspectives, reconsidering what they had previously taken for granted.

The Japanese Literature program offers an all-encompassing education in the literature of Japan, from the ancient to the medieval and early modern as well as modern and contemporary. The course involves detailed readings of individual works and suggests various ways to approach different authors and the prevailing trends of different eras, resulting in significant findings. Members of the faculty include Professor Iikura Yōichi (early modern literature), Associate Professor Saitō Masao (modern and contemporary literature), and Associate Professor Seta Michio (medieval literature).

This course covers the three fields of Contemporary Japanese Linguistics, Sociolinguistics, and Applied Japanese Linguistics. Contemporary Japanese Linguistics approaches Japanese as one of many languages and aims to empirically analyze its systems of grammar, vocabulary, phonemes, and transcription. Sociolinguistics considers and analyzes the diversity of the Japanese language as it presently exists in modern society—including differences in language according to region (dialect), age, or setting—as well as the resulting linguistic and social issues.

The Faculty of Foreign Languages aims to nurture a workforce that can utilize high language proficiency. Our faculty encourages you to be successful in society, such as the international business world with high communication skills in English or in educational organizations with linguistic ability and leadership. Also, we strive for you to be able to study abroad, challenge yourself with certificate examinations and improve your TOEIC score.

This course covers all periods and genres of Japanese literature, starting with waka poetry, Sino-Japanese poetry of the early modern period, the monogatari style of literature (e.g., The Tale of Genji )), setsuwa , and essays from ancient and medieval times. This course also includes the study of haikai poetry, ukiyo-z ōshi , yomihon , as well as the literature of the modern period, ranging from Meiji-era voices, like Higuchi Ichiyō and Natsume Sōseki, to contemporary literature. This course prioritizes students’ acquisition of basic techniques, such as bibliographical knowledge, which is required to handle literary sources such as old manuscripts, Japanese bound books, and letters.