President
Name: Fumie Takemura
Major: Psychology (Senior)
Project 1: "Comparison of Japanese and American Universities"
Abstract: As you can assume, there are many differences between Japanese and American universities. The style of admission, classes, the amount of workload, college life, and even after graduation! It can be said these differences are generated from the way of each society. It would be fun if we could share our thoughts on these differences.
Project 2: "Karoshi"
Abstract: Have you ever heard of the word "Karoshi?" It means overwork to death. Japan is one of the countries well-known for this occupational sudden death including suicides. But why? Is Japan not a happy country? I would like to compare Japan with mainly the United States and Denmark, the world's happiest country, in terms of what could be possible factors of happiness.
Vice President and Secretary
Name: Tomohiro Konno
Major: Mathematics (Senior)
Project: TBA
Name: Fumie Takemura
Project 1: "Comparison of Japanese and American Universities"
Abstract: As you can assume, there are many differences between Japanese and American universities. The style of admission, classes, the amount of workload, college life, and even after graduation! It can be said these differences are generated from the way of each society. It would be fun if we could share our thoughts on these differences.
Project 2: "Karoshi"
Abstract: Have you ever heard of the word "Karoshi?" It means overwork to death. Japan is one of the countries well-known for this occupational sudden death including suicides. But why? Is Japan not a happy country? I would like to compare Japan with mainly the United States and Denmark, the world's happiest country, in terms of what could be possible factors of happiness.
Vice President and Secretary
Name: Tomohiro Konno
Major: Mathematics (Senior)
Project: TBA
Secretary
Name: Shiori Atsumi
Major: Psychology (Senior)
Project: "Studio Ghibli"
Abstract: Don't you want to know why people are fascinated by the wonderful world of fantasy? Studio Ghibli movies are a popular source of fantasy entertainment in Japan. These movies have been loved by people across all genders, ages, and even borders since they were introduced to the world. But why are we so attracted to these movies? And why do people watch them repeatedly? Their popularity will never see an end! So, in this project, I will reveal the secrets that are hidden in Studio Ghibli.
Treasurer and Webmaster
Name: Takuhiro Suganuma
Major: Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics (Alumni)
Project: "Advances in Japanese Bullet Train Technology since WW2"
English Counselor and Treasurer
Name: Sukanya Momsen
Major: English
Project: "Tokugawa Ieyasu"
Name: Go Matsumori
CI
Name: Masao Shimada
Major: Mechanical Engineering (Ph.D)
Project 1: "Application of Japanese Modality Analysis to Japanese Short Poetry" Abstract: Modality has been defined by Japanese linguists as expressions of subjective judgements and attitudes. Different types of modality correlate directly with the outer levels of the layered structure of the clause in Japanese. The layered structure of the clause, which has been widely studied for the past 50 years in Japan, is a powerful methodology for studying the dependency relationship among clauses within a sentence. I will study and present how modality and the layered structure of the clause in Japanese can be applied to Japanese short poetry, including tanka and haiku, not only to see Japanese short poetry itself from the linguistic point of view, but also to analytically observe similarities and differences between Japanese sentence structures and Japanese short poetry structures.
Project 2: "National Characteristics of Japan: From the Japanese Short Poetry Perspective"
Abstract: What is the national essence or characteristics of the nation of Japan? What is the basis of Shintoism and Bushido (the chivalric code of the samurai)? I will discuss these points, referring to tanka poems composed in the history of Japan.
CI
Name: Taisaku Nogi
Major: Developmental Biology (Ph.D)
Project: Japanese Heroes
Abstract: Even though Mr. Obama became the first African American President of the United States, a massive glass ceiling still exists over our heads. How we can break through? How did the forerunners fight? In the past eras of great transition of the world, there were some Japanese men who lived up to or died for their beliefs. Some braved political pressures to fight against racism and some devoted their whole lives to medical science. Regardless of their success or otherwise, their humanity, diligence and passion must be remembered, when people encounter difficulties. In this seminar, I will talk about Chiune Sugihara (1900-1986), the Japanese government’s trial of the Racial Equality Proposal at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, Shibasaburo Kitasato (1853-1931) and Hideyo Noguchi (1876-1928), as examples of Japanese heroism.
Name: Shiori Atsumi
Major: Psychology (Senior)
Project: "Studio Ghibli"
Abstract: Don't you want to know why people are fascinated by the wonderful world of fantasy? Studio Ghibli movies are a popular source of fantasy entertainment in Japan. These movies have been loved by people across all genders, ages, and even borders since they were introduced to the world. But why are we so attracted to these movies? And why do people watch them repeatedly? Their popularity will never see an end! So, in this project, I will reveal the secrets that are hidden in Studio Ghibli.
Treasurer and Webmaster
Name: Takuhiro Suganuma
Major: Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics (Alumni)
Project: "Advances in Japanese Bullet Train Technology since WW2"
English Counselor and Treasurer
Name: Sukanya Momsen
Major: English
Project: "Tokugawa Ieyasu"
PR Officer
Name: Go Matsumori
(NDJ's Second President from May 2011 to May 2012)
Major: Environmental Science, Policy, and Management (Alumni)
Project: "Japanese Fishary, Traditional to Modern"
Abstract:
1. Fishery in Japan started more than 16,000 years ago. Because Japan is located in an aquatic resource-rich area, seafood has always been available to Japanese people. However, some species are being over fished. For instance, tuna seem to be currently on the red list. Because I sometimes wonder whether my future grandchildren will be able to taste delicious tuna, I started to research the Japanese fishery industry. I am interested in how the Japanese managed aquatic resources in the past, and how they are going to manage it sustainably in the future.
Media Technician
Name: Yuki Yokoyama
(NDJ's First President from May 2010 to May 2011)
Major: Study in Cinema and Media Culture (Alumni)
Project: "Japanese Films"
Abstract: Japanese film has a more-than-one-hundred-year history. A number of famous directors, such as Yasujiro Ozu (1903-1963), Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998), and Takeshi Kitano (1947-present), have led the Japanese Cinema into the world of film. In the history of Japanese Cinema, a peculiar genre was born: Jidaigeki. Jidaigeki was strongly influenced by the directors’ auteur theories and political activities. Therefore, Jidaigeki does not have a single, uniform definition. I will discuss its originalities and how it has influenced the development of Japanese Cinema.
Major: Environmental Science, Policy, and Management (Alumni)
Project: "Japanese Fishary, Traditional to Modern"
Abstract:
1. Fishery in Japan started more than 16,000 years ago. Because Japan is located in an aquatic resource-rich area, seafood has always been available to Japanese people. However, some species are being over fished. For instance, tuna seem to be currently on the red list. Because I sometimes wonder whether my future grandchildren will be able to taste delicious tuna, I started to research the Japanese fishery industry. I am interested in how the Japanese managed aquatic resources in the past, and how they are going to manage it sustainably in the future.
2. Whaling in Japan is an unique and important tradition, which has been performed since the Jomon period (縄文時代 Jōmon Jidai, about 14,000 BCE to 300 BCE). However, Japan is losing the battle for whaling discussion against the anti-whaling society and the current whaling controversy, and this is putting Japan at a very precarious situation in the international community. Why? Because the Japanese people have been neglecting to promote their culture to help others understand the reality of Japan and Japanese people themselves.
Media Technician
Name: Yuki Yokoyama
(NDJ's First President from May 2010 to May 2011)
Major: Study in Cinema and Media Culture (Alumni)
Project: "Japanese Films"
Abstract: Japanese film has a more-than-one-hundred-year history. A number of famous directors, such as Yasujiro Ozu (1903-1963), Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998), and Takeshi Kitano (1947-present), have led the Japanese Cinema into the world of film. In the history of Japanese Cinema, a peculiar genre was born: Jidaigeki. Jidaigeki was strongly influenced by the directors’ auteur theories and political activities. Therefore, Jidaigeki does not have a single, uniform definition. I will discuss its originalities and how it has influenced the development of Japanese Cinema.
CI
Name: Masao Shimada
Project 1: "Application of Japanese Modality Analysis to Japanese Short Poetry" Abstract: Modality has been defined by Japanese linguists as expressions of subjective judgements and attitudes. Different types of modality correlate directly with the outer levels of the layered structure of the clause in Japanese. The layered structure of the clause, which has been widely studied for the past 50 years in Japan, is a powerful methodology for studying the dependency relationship among clauses within a sentence. I will study and present how modality and the layered structure of the clause in Japanese can be applied to Japanese short poetry, including tanka and haiku, not only to see Japanese short poetry itself from the linguistic point of view, but also to analytically observe similarities and differences between Japanese sentence structures and Japanese short poetry structures.
Project 2: "National Characteristics of Japan: From the Japanese Short Poetry Perspective"
Abstract: What is the national essence or characteristics of the nation of Japan? What is the basis of Shintoism and Bushido (the chivalric code of the samurai)? I will discuss these points, referring to tanka poems composed in the history of Japan.
CI
Name: Taisaku Nogi
Major: Developmental Biology (Ph.D)
Project: Japanese Heroes
Abstract: Even though Mr. Obama became the first African American President of the United States, a massive glass ceiling still exists over our heads. How we can break through? How did the forerunners fight? In the past eras of great transition of the world, there were some Japanese men who lived up to or died for their beliefs. Some braved political pressures to fight against racism and some devoted their whole lives to medical science. Regardless of their success or otherwise, their humanity, diligence and passion must be remembered, when people encounter difficulties. In this seminar, I will talk about Chiune Sugihara (1900-1986), the Japanese government’s trial of the Racial Equality Proposal at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, Shibasaburo Kitasato (1853-1931) and Hideyo Noguchi (1876-1928), as examples of Japanese heroism.