"Haiku, Tea Ceremony, Karaoke, and the Constitution of Japan, etc. " : Class Analysis of the New 'Current Issues in Japan B'

神奈川県茅ヶ崎市The reorganization of the Faculty of International Studies in 2000 has greatly changed its curriculum. 'Current Issues in Japan B' was formerly an obligatory course only for foreign students who needed to know many aspects of Japan where they live, but now it is required also for 2nd-year Japanese students who are to take part in the Semester Study Abroad Program. We started the new 'Current Issues in Japan B' this spring semester for the first time. This paper reports on contents of the course and discusses some problems which we should solve in order to offer students more effective classes in the future