OVERVIEW

The digital transformation and the economic, social, and cultural effects of the emergence and exponential growth of digital technologies create enormous challenges for the law and lawyers. Existing regulatory frameworks across all fields of law are disrupted. The international programs in the Graduate School of Law have, therefore, developed a strong emphasis on the legal and policy challenges created by the ongoing transition to a "smart society," and we offer several courses examining these issues in the fields of intellectual property, data protection, the platform economy, urban mobility, robotics, algorithms, bioethics, and fintech. The design of sustainable and effective regulatory solutions in these fields requires a strong understanding of the technology, as well as insights from other disciplines in the social sciences and humanities. Our courses, therefore, explore these issues from an interdisciplinary perspective with a strong focus on drawing upon insights from related fields such as applied ethics, law and economics, behavioral economics and psychology, sociology, and development studies. Our location in Japan enables us to offer regional insights into these challenges and a broader comparative perspective. Finally, a diverse international student body and the integration of Japanese students creates a vibrant classroom environment for thinking about these important issues.