General
Question:
I see that there are lecture courses and seminar courses offered. What is involved for each of these types of courses?
Answer:
In addition to offering lectures designed to teach a large number of students, our Department has created small-group learning opportunities, with approximately 20 students per class, in each academic year. More specifically, students in their first year learn in a seminar setting the basics for university-level studies in law and politics in the First-Year Seminar on Law and Politics course and then, in their second and subsequent years, take seminars in their respective areas of specialization. In constitutional law, civil law, criminal law and other substantive law, for example, the main focus of lecture courses is placed on learning the system of law, as well as on what ideas the formulation of respective statutes is based. In seminars, on the other hand, students learn by reference to particular cases to study what issues are involved, how they can be solved legally and other such questions by, typically, writing reports and holding discussions based on them.

Question:
Are there any courses taught by people engaged in actual practice?
Answer:
To study theories and ideas of law and politics in a systematic fashion is a opportunity unique to a university setting, which allows for ample time for learning. By gaining, along with such study, knowledge about what types of things are actually happening in society, and what types of issues exist, students can have a firm grasp of the significance of our learning and reflect on how it can be applied in society.

Many of the Faculty of Law teaching staff have connections with actual practice in various forms, such as serving as members of national and local governmental committees or participating in study groups with practitioners; some of them also have work experience as a national government official, banker, embassy staff, etc. and accordingly incorporate practice-based approaches in the courses that they teach.

Public Law and Policy Track

(1) Course Description

Question:
What subjects do students in the Public Law and Policy Track study?
Answer:
Our Public Law and Policy Track course offerings, which are designed for students whose future career goal is to work as a national or local government employee or in the field of politics, include Public Policy, Tax Law, Administrative Law, Law and Justice (Philosophy of Law) and International Organizations Law. Government officials working in the frontline of public service are invited to lecture in our Public Policy course.

(2) Job Prospects

Question:
I would like to know about career-path examples after studying in the Public Law and Policy Track.
Answer:
A major career path for students completing the Public Law and Policy Track is to work for a national or local governmental agency. Specifically, our Public Law and Policy Track graduates have been employed in the past by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the Financial Services Agency, etc. at the national level, and by Okayama Prefecture, Okayama City, etc. at the local level. Studying at graduate school is also among their career choices. Graduate schools that our graduates actually went to include: the Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Okayama University, the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Public Policy and the Osaka School of International Public Policy at Osaka University.

Business Law Track

(1) Course Description

Question:
What subjects do students in the Business Law Track study?
Answer:
Our Business Law Track course offerings consist primarily of subjects relevant to corporate activities, including Company Law, Law of Business Transactions, Labour Law, Competition Law, Social Security Law and International Trade Law. Experts actively working in the field of corporate legal affairs serve as invited lecturers for some of these courses.
　
(2) Job Prospects

Question:
I would like to know about career-path examples after studying in the Business Law Track.
Answer:
A major career path for students completing the Business Law Track is employment at a private company. Past employers of our graduates include: Mizuho Financial Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Chugoku Bank, Nomura Securities, SMBC Nikko Securities, Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities, Japan Finance Corporation, Norinchukin Bank, Tokyo Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance, Nippon Life Insurance Company, Japan Post, Okayama Broadcasting, Sanyo Shimbun, West Japan Railway, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone West Corporation, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi Electric, Kajima Corporation, Teijin, Toshiba Medical Systems, AEON Retail and Ryobi Holdings.

Legal Services Track

(1) Course Description

Question:
What subjects do students in the Legal Services Track study?
Answer:
Our Legal Services Track course offerings, which are designed for students whose future career goal is to work in the field of law as a specialist or a paralegal or legal assistant, include Criminal Law: Specific Offenses, Contract Law, Tort Law, Law of Civil Procedure and Law of Criminal Procedure. Seminar on Legal Writing, taught by the faculty of the School of Law at Okayama University, is offered as well.

(2) Job Prospects

Question:
I would like to know about career-path examples after studying in the Legal Services Track.
Answer:
Major career paths for students completing the Legal Services Track include going to law school, becoming a certified judicial scrivener, certified public tax accountant or another related legal expert or specialist, and working as a public prosecutor's assistant officer or court administrative official. Some of the law schools that our graduates went to are: the Law School of Okayama University, Kyoto University Law School Program and the Kobe University Law School.