Cardiff Japanese Studies Centre

The Cardiff Japanese Studies Centre was established in 1989 and is recognised as one of the leading Japanese studies centres in the country.

The aim of the Centre is to continue to develop and improve its undergraduate curriculum, strengthening links with sister universities in Japan, and through the appointment and training of high calibre staff. It is also the aim to raise the Centre's research output and profile.

As a part of one of the leading Business Schools, the Cardiff Japanese Studies Centre strives for excellence in all areas of its operations. With the number of students enrolling on one of our five programmes (and from 2012 there will be a Japanese option as part of the new BA in translation studies offered by the School of European Studies) increasing in recent years, we have been continuing to look for ways to make further improvements rather than rest on our laurels. As we move forward we are considering a range of new ideas to further enhance the experience of students during their time in Cardiff and in Japan.

It is not just students that get assessed at university. Students also provide rating on the modules provided by the Centre. In the Autumn Semester in 2010-1, the Centre’s scored above the Business School's average across all 10 categories on a number of key criteria. Indeed, individual modules scored 6.6, 6.7 and even 6.8 (out of a maximum of 7) on many of these questions. Whilst these results are extremely pleasing, we are looking for ways to make further improvements and to respond to comments from students so that the scores may be even better in the future.

The Centre has a number of research-active staff. In 2011, the Centre saw new books being published by both Dr Umemura and Dr Hood. On top of this, staff have been active in arranging panels, workshops and attending conferences in not only Cardiff but around the world. These experiences ensure that students can be confident that they are receiving some of the best research-led teaching of any university in the world. At a time when the term 'internationalization' is still very much on the lips of leading companies and universities, our Centre can be proud in the way we are one of Cardiff University's best examples of true internationalization in practice. The students from our Centre who go to Japan as part of their studies represent a significant proportion of all the Cardiff University students overseas in any academic year. Indeed thanks to our Centre, Cardiff University is one of the few British universities which can boast that it sends more students to a non-European country than to some of the European countries which are also studied at that institution. Due to the increase in the number of students, we have also continued to expand the number of exchange agreements we have with universities in Japan. In 2011 we were very excited to add Toyo University, in Tokyo, to the 11 other universities we have links with. As well as our students getting an international experience as part of their studies when they go to Japan, we continue to see a diversification of the national backgrounds of the students within the Centre which I believe has positive benefits for all the students.

Following the events of 11 March 2011, the world's attention has been on Japan once again. How Japan responded to the earthquake, tsunami and subsequent problems at the Fukushima nuclear power station has further emphasized that there is still much that the world can learn from Japan and Japan can learn from the rest of the world. Our Centre and our students play a vital role in this process and we will continue to do this to the highest standards.

If you would like any more information about the Centre, please do not hesitate to contact us at CJSC@Cardiff.ac.uk

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