The Ibero-American region is geographically vast and extremely diverse culturally, and is a place where a variety of values from around the globe have converged. Vast in every sense, many places in the area remain untouched, making it an ideal subject for research. Although located a long way from Japan, the region has had close ties with Japanese society: the arrival of Francis Xavier in the 16th century, trade with Portugal and Spain in the 17th century, and Japanese migration to Latin America beginning in the late 19th century. In contrast to the diversity of the region, Japanese society is highly homogenous, and recently, multicultural coexistence and understanding have become major issues. Research on the Ibero-American cultural sphere could therefore contribute greatly to addressing these challenges.

The Ibero-American Cultural Studies major is centered around three core research topics. Ibero-American Literature/Culture focuses on the study of literature and other cultural aspects of Spain and Latin America. Ibero-American Area Studies focuses on research into the history, society, politics, and economy of the region as a whole and/or of individual countries within the region. Spanish Linguistics involves studying Spanish diachronically and synchronically from a linguistic perspective, with an understanding that while Spanish is one of the languages connecting this vast region, it is not a single uniform language but one with regional variations.

Studying the vast region of Ibero-America means learning about its diversity. This brings about fresh perspectives and ideas for approaching various subjects. As a university with a School of Spanish Language and Communication, we have outstanding researchers specializing in Ibero-America. We invite you to join these educators in exploring this region and all the worldviews it encompasses.

In this era of globalization and international exchange, where language plays a vital role, interest in Japanese—one of the key languages involved—is growing year by year. Consequently, Japanese language teaching in support of Japanese language learning has grown in importance, along with the necessity to promote Japanese language (Japanese linguistics), which is its very foundation. With this in mind, this specialization aims to address the needs of the times by advancing both Japanese linguistics and Japanese language education, which are deeply interconnected.

A key feature of this specialization is that native and non-native speakers of Japanese study together in a shared environment, allowing for approaches to Japanese from both uchi (inside) and soto (outside) perspectives. When attempting to objectively understand Japanese, it is effective and meaningful to be in an environment where insider and outsider viewpoints intersect. In such a setting, a natural sense of inquiry arises as one seeks to clarify the characteristics of Japanese by comparing it with other languages.

Japanese is one of the most extensively researched languages in the world, and as such, there are well-established conditions for research. The examination of a wide range of issues in Japanese language education continues, with its long research tradition as a foundation. Building on this body of research, this specialization offers classes related to Japanese language studies, such as Research in Japanese Linguistics, Special Research in Japanese Linguistics, and Contrastive Linguistics, as well as classes related to Japanese language teaching, such as Japanese Pedagogy and Research in Second-Language Acquisition Theory. In addition, we place great emphasis on providing personalized research guidance to each student.

International exchange is likely to become even more important in the coming years. It is my hope that through your studies in this specialization, you will develop the ability to proactively address issues related to Japanese linguistics and Japanese language education.

With the advancement of information and communication technology, the international movement of people, goods, and information has intensified, and interdependence among nations has increased. However, despite the world becoming more borderless, issues such as international conflicts, widening disparities, and climate change are on the rise. Never before has there been such a pressing need for individuals committed to seriously addressing these problems.

There are three requirements for becoming a global individual: first, having an understanding of how the international community operates; second, having respect for diverse viewpoints through an understanding of the cultures, ethnic groups, histories, and religions of different countries along with a sense that we are all living together in an international community; third, communication skills grounded in advanced linguistic proficiency.

A key feature of this specialization is that its curriculum is designed to enable students to meet these three requirements. For the first requirement, classes are offered such as International Relations, which analyzes global affairs; International Development, which analyzes issues faced by developing countries; and Japan's Economic Experiences, which analyzes Japan's economic system. For the second requirement, classes are offered that examine Japanese culture from multiple perspectives by comparing it with the cultures of other countries. For the third requirement, all classes are conducted in English, allowing students to achieve advanced English proficiency and develop communication skills to effectively convey their ideas. This specialization has been attracting attention as it is rare among Japanese universities for all classes to be taught entirely in English.

Students are also provided opportunities for practical learning through international internships that make use of our network of faculty and graduates, who are active in a wide range of fields, as well as our network of affiliated institutions overseas. In addition, as a completion requirement, students are able to choose to either write a master's thesis or complete an internship as a special research project.

We encourage those who are keen to develop their abilities as global individuals and play an active role in the international community to embrace this opportunity.

Language is the code of culture, and culture is the track upon which language moves. Language reflects and records the unique climate and culture of a people, while culture deeply influences how their language develops in a variety of ways.

Research in language and culture begins with the hypothesis that "culture must be embedded within the words of a language." Words are born within a culture, developing as they endure through history. It can be said that we stand at the intersection of language and culture, living our lives surrounded by words.

In this major, students explore the basic research methods of semantics and pragmatics—important research fields that characterize the mechanisms of language—and examine their potential applications to Japanese and Chinese language education as well as to foreign language education.

They will also compare Japanese, Chinese, English, and other languages from both linguistic and cultural perspectives, engage with words as they live and breathe within culture by examining a wide variety of concrete examples in language and culture research, and explore the ways humans perceive the world.

In this major, students will be provided with comprehensive guidance and advice on the key components of research in the doctoral program, including the collection and analysis of linguistic data, hypothesis construction from linguistic facts, writing of academic papers and reference lists, and methods for presenting and discussing research at academic conferences.