Department of Current Legal Studies
Department of Juridical Studies
Department of Current Legal Studies
Department of Global Legal Studies
Department of Political Science
Utilizing computer technology to study real-world legal issues
Consumer law addresses the rights and roles of consumers, corporate law addresses laws relevant to corporate activities, and environmental law addresses laws and policies to protect the global environment. Students in the Department of Current Legal Studies utilize computers to study these groups of laws from a perspective that sees them as “contemporary laws” and to develop thinking skills and data utilization competencies appropriate to the information age.
Department of Current Legal Studies
Key Features of the Department of Current Legal Studies
Point 01
Skills for information processing and information transmission + legal studies
Classes include special seminars (Legal Information Processing Seminar 1 and 2, etc.), information technology subjects (Information Processing 1-4, Law of Privacy and Disclosure, and Law and Artificial Intelligence, etc.), and consumer, corporate, and environmental law classes.
Point 02
An extensive range of consumer law courses, including exercises led by practitioners
The Department offers a particularly extensive range of consumer law courses. In addition to full-time faculty members who are well-versed in legal practice, outside practitioners provide practical learning experiences related to the legislation, enforcement, and other aspects of major consumer laws. In Seminar on Consumer Law by Practitioners (a required course), students engage in practical studies of consumer law via small-group seminars.
Point 03
Internships related to Consumer Law provide real-world experience
The Department arranges internships with a focus on consumer affairs centers in city and ward offices as well as consumer organizations. Seeing how laws and policies they learned about in the classroom are being implemented is an opportunity for students to think about their own career path.
Point 04
Approaching environmental issues and corporate activity from a legal perspective
In the environmental law course group, students acquire the knowledge of the natural sciences required when considering environmental law while examining laws and regulations concerning the protection of the natural environment and preservation of living environments. In the corporate law course group, they study the various laws which stipulate the rules for corporate activities that underpin the economy.
Program Structure
As a department that deals with the latest laws, we provide advanced computer-based education. Students refine their IT skills in small classes and acquire the ability to gather and disseminate documents and information related to the law. In their third and fourth years, students engage in the specialized and advanced study of law with a focus on three cutting-edge legal fields. They acquire a high level of legal knowledge, and also develop an awareness of issues and the ability to solve problems via their self-directed learning in exercises.
Topics
Environmental Problems and Law
Students trace the history of previous laws, survey and analyze the current law, and envision future laws related to environmental issues. We explore such topics as the type of legal system that has been formed in Japan to resolve environmental issues, its characteristics and challenges, its underlying philosophies, and the legal and policy tools used within it.
Internship A
Students leverage the legal knowledge and theories gained through consumer law-related subjects. During their second or third year, they spend part of their summer vacation interning at local governments or consumer organizations, gaining hands-on experience, pondering specific contemporary consumer issues with staff members, and creating media such as educational videos. The aim is to foster comprehensive skills needed to address real-world consumer issues.