JPNB24 Japan in the 21st Century

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
2/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Andrea Boccardi, M.A., PhD (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Zuzana Kubovčáková, M.A., Ph.D.
Department of Japanese Studies – Asia Studies Centre – Faculty of Arts
Supplier department: Department of Japanese Studies – Asia Studies Centre – Faculty of Arts
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 70 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/70, only registered: 0/70, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/70
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
This course aims to introduce different fields of Japanese life, which together form contemporary Japanese society. Course also focuses on the foreign relationships of Japan from the international political situation’s point of view. There is a short historical overview as a part of the lecture serving as an introduction and logical starting point for the current situation. Part of the lecture is audiovisual material (maps, photographs, graphs…)
Learning outcomes
At the end of the course the student is able to:
define particular fields and aspects which influence and form the contemporary Japanese society;
characterize and explain the main (also historical) reasons for the current situation;
create a complex image of how are different social mechanisms working in Japan;
name the problems they are creating;
evaluate particular fields and aspects influencing contemporary Japanese society.
Syllabus
  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. Geography of Japan – location, nature, calamities, prefectures
  • 3. Industry (self sufficiency rate)
  • 4. Economy (since WW2 until lost decade) and infrastructure
  • 5. Japan and international relationship (territorial dispute over Kuril Islands, Takeshima and Senkaku)
  • 6. Political system (constitution, election model, prime minister, emperor)
  • 7. Population (homogeneity vs. heterogeneity, national minorities, ageing society)
  • 8. Family, marriage, fertility (female role in society)
  • 9. Education system
  • 10. Unemployment (freeters, parasite singles, batteki…)
  • 11. Summary
  • 12. Written exam
Literature
  • Pradyumna, Karan: Japan in the 21st Century: Environment, Economy, and Society. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2005.
  • CRAIG, Albert M. Dějiny Japonska. Edited by Edwin O. Reischauer, Translated by David Labus - Jan Sýkora. Vyd. 2., dopl. Praha: Lidové noviny, 2006, 476 s. ISBN 9788071065135. info
  • Critical issues in contemporary Japan. Edited by Jeff Kingston. First published. London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2014, xv, 309. ISBN 9780415857451. info
  • KINGSTON, Jeff. Contemporary Japan : history, politics, and social change since the 1980s. Second edition. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, a John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Publication, 2013, ix, 313. ISBN 9781118315071. info
  • KINGSTON, Jeff. Japan in transformation, 1945-2010. 2nd ed. London: Routledge, 2011, xxxii, 189. ISBN 9781408234518. info
Teaching methods
Lecture, discussions, brainstorming, homeworks.
Assessment methods
Final written test, score 70% or higher required. Students are expected to attend lecture of this course.
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: every week.
General note: Předmět je určen i pro studenty mimo mateřské obory.
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