| 回 | 項目 | 内容 |
| 第1回 | Course introduction and information for students | Overview of the course. Explanation about the textbook, grading, and participation. Self-introduction of the instructor and students. |
| 第2回 | Japan in the World Today - current status of the Japanese economy | Statistical facts about the Japanese economy: life expectancy, natural disaster, criminal records, demography, growth rate and per capita GDP. |
| 第3回 | Abenomics: 2013-2015 | A set of economic policies under Abe Administration, "Abenomics", was expected to revive the Japanese economy after long recessions and crises. We examine what it is and review the arguments for and against Abenomics. |
| 第4回 | Democrats and crises: 2008-2013 | Democrats' economic policies, often called as "from dams to people", attracted supports at first, but later it became clearer that such populism economic policies became unsustainable. Furthermore, international financial crisis and big earthquake shocked the Japanese economy. We study the strengths and weakness of Democrats' policies. |
| 第5回 | Structural Reforms: 2002-2008 | The heaviest debtor sector today is the government, national and local combined. Fiscal debt accumulated over the 15 years of slow economic growth. We study the structural reforms under Koizumi Administration
PREPARATION: Read the textbook chapter and think about the following questions. How can we reconcile the fiscal austerity and the increasing demand for public services? |
| 第6回 | The Lost Decade: 1991-2002 | We experienced a very long period of recessions during the "Lost Decade". Students will understand why the recession continued so long, and why economic policies did not work. |
| 第7回 | Bubble Trouble: 1986-1991 | The Japanese in the late 1980s and the early 1990s experienced unprecedented economic boom, the "bubble economy".
PREPARATION: Read the textbook chapter and think about the following questions. Why did asset prices rise so sharply while consumer price index stayed stable, leading to a big misjudgement by Bank of Japan? What was the aftermath of the bubble burst in financial market regulations and real growth rate? |
| 第8回 | The Second Oil Shock and aftermath: 1979-1985 | The first half of 1980s was characterized as economically and politically unstable period. This period was followed by new waves of economic thoughts. Students are expected to understand how such change of thoughts developed. |
| 第9回 | The 1973 Shocks and recessions: 1973-1978 | The Dollar Shock and the (First) Oil Shock strongly made impacts on how the Japanese economy worked. Students will study the weakness and challenges at the time. |
| 第10回 | High Growth Era: 1955-1972 | The lecture focuses on the High-Speed Growth Period of 1960s and early 70s.
PREPARATION: Read the textbook chapter and think about the following questions. What are the factors, exogenous and endogenous, for the high growth? Can they be repeated in other times and in other regions of the world? |
| 第11回 | Back to the Future: 2020-2050 | Ageing population and the declining younger cohort will significantly affect the mandatory pension plan, public health program, and the productivity growth.
PREPARATION: Read the textbook chapter and think about the following questions. Will a slower growth inevitably bring about disparities between generations, between sectors of labor market and between megalopolises and rural areas? |
| 第12回 | Macroeconomic models | Students must have studied macroeconomic models before, but it is still beneficial to review how macroeconomy works. Specifically, we review the IS-LM and AD-AS models. Students are encouraged to present questions if they have. |
| 第13回 | Economic cycle models | Studying economic cycle models can help students understand better why and how economies change from time to time. We will cover various types of economic cycle models. |
| 第14回 | Coaching for paper-writing | Students will get advice how they can write better papers. They are encouraged to raise questions proactively. |
| 第15回 | Wrap up | Review of what we have learned. Discussion: how we can analyze the current situation. |
