Purpose and History

In April 1988, the very year that Seigakuin University was founded, the Seigakuin University General Research Institute was established with the express purpose of conducting extensive research within selected academic disciplines, enhancing cross-disciplinary dialogue, providing resources to researchers, and promoting joint research projects.
At the outset the General Research Institute (GRI) began with five centers corresponding to the following disciplines: Political Science & Economics; Science and Education; Christianity and Culture; Language Research; and Japanese & Anglo-American Studies. In 1998 the Center for Systematic Theology was added, and in recent years two more centers were created. With the GRI having earlier engaged in collecting valuable information and resources on Japan and Korea, the Center for Japanese-Korean Modern History was launched in 2002 in collaboration with the Institute of Japanese Studies at Hallym University, Korea. The following year the Counseling Research Center, including the Grief Care Room, was created.
In order to publish the research results of the General Research Institute, the Seigakuin University Press was established in 1991, since which time it has published in excess of fifty books and monographs.

Seigakuin University General Research Institute Activities and Events

1. Symposiums

The Institute sponsors annual symposia, inviting scholars and experts from diverse fields both in Japan and from overseas to present the results of their research to the general public while simultaneously promoting scholarly exchanges. Some of the themes representative of these symposia are as follows:

(1) gFrom kan (the public sector) to min (the private sector): Collaborative Participation and Local Empowermenth (Municipal Government Studies)
(2) gChristians and the Parent-Child Relationshiph (Counseling)
(3) gThe Recent U.S. Policy toward North Koreah (Japanese-Korean Modern History)
(4) gChristians and Personal Relationshipsh (Counseling)
(5) gEducation and Religion since World War IIh (International Symposium)
(6) gPeace and Democracy in East Asia: The Forty Years of Japanese-Korean Relations since the 1965 Restorationh (Japanese-Korean Modern History)

2. Joint Research

Scholars and researchers from various academic disciplines bring the results of their research to corroborate with their peers in conducting joint research. Ten joint projects are currently underway.

(1) gGlobalization Studiesh
(2) gContinuity of English Language Education from Seigakuin Primary to Secondary Schoolsh
(3) gMunicipal Government Studiesh
(4) gComprehensive Studies of Japan in the Global Contexth
(5) gStudies on Japanese-Korean Modern Historyh
(6) gPublic Theologyh
(7) gThe Ideal and the Actual in the European Union: Towards a Japanese Policy for the EUh
(8) gPuritanismh (in preparation for establishing a Center for Puritan Studies in Japan)
(9) gChristiansf Mental Health and Counseling Case Studiesh
(10) gTowards Interdisciplinary Studies on Childhoodh

Seigakuin University Press

An important function of the General Research Institutefs Seigakuin University Press is to publish monographs, textbooks, and informative books for the general public. As an active member of the Association of University Presses in Japan, it also contributes to the promotion of scholarly publishing and correspondence beyond the Seigakuin campus.

Grief Care Room

Although primarily intended for attending to the grief-stricken, the service of the Grief Care Room also extends to those with problems related to personal and family relationships, difficulties at work and/or school, and troubles concerning child-rearing, career orientation and aptitude, violence, crime, delinquency, and a host of other issues.

Publications