Japanese Studies

It is not by chance that the Japanese crane (tanchōzuru) is considered the symbol of the Japanese people. Japanese people associate the patch of red bare skin on the crown of the Japanese crane with the country’s flag. Cranes in V formation symbolize the flying geese paradigm (FGP), developed by Japanese scholars, which explains the so-called ‘chase’ of many Asian countries after Japan and further dynamic economic growth.

For decades Japan has played a leading role in the region as the second largest economy in the world behind the USA. In the next 20 years, China may become the world’s largest economy, whereas India could be the third largest. In this respect, what role would a prosperous Japan play in the region? What is the future of multilateral relations between Japan, South Korea and China with respect to their past history?

It is well known that relations between Russia and Japan have long been contentious. For instance, to date Russia and Japan have not signed a peace treaty, and this has been major stumbling block to bilateral cooperation. On the other hand, the 21st century has seen the emergence of new opportunities to settle these differences and improve political, trade and economic relations. For instance, the agreements reached by the leaders of the two countries during their most recent meetings are a clear indication of this.

The idea put forward in the ‘Japan-Russia Action Plan’ of 2003, whereby investment and overall trade between Russia and Japan are far from its maximum potential is still relevant today.

Further growth of investment and trade faces a number of problems. In particular, the Russian business community generally lacks expertise and knowledge regarding the peculiarities of Japanese business, as well as the specifics of business etiquette in Asia.

The major in Japanese studies within the ‘Economics and Politics in Asia’ programme encompasses such fields as economics, politics, international affairs, sociology, business and Japanese history, as well as studies of the country’s demographics and culture.

All language courses are taught by highly-qualified, experienced teachers and native speakers. A specially developed method for learning the Japanese language will allow graduates not only to pass N-1 or N-2 Levels of the Japanese language proficiency test (JPLT), but also to develop the ability to conduct consecutive and simultaneous interpretation and read specialized literature in Japanese.