The honours minor degree program in Japanese Studies provides comprehensive language education in tandem with foundational knowledge and skills to better understand, analyze and approach issues related to culture and society of Japan from a cross-cultural perspective.

Students will have the opportunity to develop communicative competence and performance in advanced Japanese, cross-cultural understanding of the language and culture of Japan, business and language use, Japanese linguistics, media and language, reading knowledge of classical Japanese, pedagogy for teaching Japanese, skills in translation and interpretation between English and Japanese. The program is augmented by various exchange programs, internship and co-op programs, the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, regional and national speech contests, and other academic and professional opportunities. The program makes use of IT effectively and rigorously to provide students with access to instructional materials on line. This program will particularly emphasizes the value of learning the language and culture of Japan in an increasingly pluralistic and interdependent world. The aim is to educate students to be ‘agents of change’ who will be risk-takers and leaders not only in Canada-Japan relations, but also in global environments. This program will prepare students to be autonomous language learners to develop language skills further; independent thinker and risk-taker with sense of accountability and sensitivity; ability to understand cross-cultural issues and situations; readiness for on-the-job training such as a summer internship program or co-op program in combination with their major programs.