This information is for Hitotsubashi students enrolled in the Department of Business Law, Graduate School of Law (法学研研究科ビジネスロー専攻). (If you are an overseas student seeking to come to Hitotsubashi Business Law on exchange, please visit the page for international students. )
The Hitotsubashi Business Law ("HBL") program is a graduate law program for working professionals. HBL acknowledges that semester-long exchange is largely impossible for HBL students.
Therefore, HBL has negotiated the following short-term exchange experiences with our existing exchange partners:
Melbourne University (Australia) -> students may enrol in a a week-long LLM (Master of Laws) course offered by the Melbourne Law School (see the available courses here) (tuition is free but there is a cap of two students per year);
National University of Singapore (Singapore) -> students may attend a three-week intensive or a one-week super-intensive as part of NUS's Auditing Program for legal professionals, either during the August-September summer or January-February winter (see available courses here) (tuition is free but there is a cap of two students per year).
Goethe University (Germany) -> students may attend a three-day intensive course as part of Goethe University's International Campus Program, although this is only available every two to three years (tuition is free and there are no caps on student enrolments).
University of Washington (USA) -> although not a partner institution, the University of Washington offers a one-week program (both face-to-face and online) on the American legal system and method in early September (tuition is an affordable USD 1,800 and there are no caps on student enrolments).
HBL also anticipates entering into new exchange agreements with the following overseas partners which will also offer short-term learning experiences:
National Taiwan University (Taiwan) -> students may attend a three week program on Law and Data though the NTU Plus Academy in July (tuition is free but there is a cap of two students).
Vienna University of Business and Economics (Austria) -> students may attend a three-week summer school in June-July, although details are still under negotiation.
University of Milano (Italy) -> students may attend a summer school on EU business law (the summer school concept is still being developed, but tuition is expected to be free with a cap of two students).
Although the Short-Term Exchange Program was designed to complement the English-language Global Business Law ("GBL") stream, all HBL students are eligible to participate.
Students, however, must demonstrate their English proficiency as follows:
the student is a native speaker of English;
the student has been successfully admitted into the GBL program;
the students has studied in English for at least one year at an overseas university or at least two years at an overseas junior or senior high school;
in the last five years, the student has achieved the following scores in an English proficiency test: 90 on TOEFL iBT; 600 on TOEFL PBT; 7 on IELTS; 英検1級; or 800 on TOEIC.;
the student passes an interview examination with Professor Leon Wolff.
If the overseas partner has imposed caps on participation, students must attend a selection interview with Professor Leon Wolff, Chair of the Global Business Law ("GBL") Program, to explain their motivation for participating in the short-term exchange program and how it will support their masters research and future career development.
Below are the deadlines for applying for each Short-Term Exchange Program on offer.
To apply, contact the Business Law Administration Office (law-bl.g[at]ad.hit-u.ac.jp) or Professor Leon Wolff (leon.wolff[at]r.hit-u.ac.jp).
Melbourne University
15 January (to study in semester 2: July-December) and
15 June (to study in semester 1: January - June)
National University of Singapore
15 July (to study in the summer) and
01 December (to study in the winter)
University of Washington
15 June (to study in early September)
Goethe University
15 September (to study in January the following year)
NB: next intake is January 2027
Please note that the short-term exchange program at the following universities are still subject to agreement.
National Taiwan University (anticipated to commence in 2026)
Milano University (anticipated to commence in 2027)
Vienna University of Economics and and Business (anticipated to commence in 2027)
HBL students earn credit towards their masters or doctoral degrees by participating in the Global Short-Term Exchange Program. This is by enrolling in:
Overseas Intensive in Global Business Law 1 (1 credit for any course that is approximately 660 minutes hours in total volume of learning);
Overseas Intensive in Global Business Law II (2 credits for any course that is approximately 1,320 minutes in total volume of learning)
The default assessment scheme is a research report or reflective paper of 1,800 words (for the 1 credit course) or 2,500 words (for the 2 credit course).
However, students are free to negotiate with Professor Leon Wolff an alternative assessment scheme (for example, an interview or presentation).
Students are responsible for visas, flights, accommodation and travel insurance.
Students with Japanese citizenship may visit Australia, Singapore and the European Union without a visa. (However, pre-travel electronic authorization may be required.) However, travel to the US requires a special class of visa which the University of Washington will help students secure, although this means that early application will be essential.
Students who do not have Japanese citizenship will need to inquire about any visa or authorization requirements for travel.
Testimonial by Momo KATO, Goethe University Short-Term Exchange, 2025
Momo Kato with Professor Leon Wolff
I participated in the overseas intensive course in Frankfurt in 2025, and yes it was intensive! The class was welcoming and we were soon chatting about cultural differences and there were lots of role-playing and mock negotiations to keep us entertained. Japanese students were initially a little shy but they soon opened up and we negotiated really hard.....and that was fun! Highly recommended!