Involving High School Students in AIU International Law Studies

Since 2022, Prof. Tetsuya Toyoda has been inviting high school students to take part in his international law and other law courses by way of online workshops. These workshops expose high school students to important legal topics to help them see the importance of discussing them in English while also giving AIU students an opportunity to solidify their understanding of the subject matter through communication.

Prof. Toyoda has already conducted nine online workshops with high school students:

• • 1. “Law in International Society” on December 7, 2022
  • 2.“International Organizations Today” on July 14, 2023
  • 3. “Japanese Constitutionalism in Global Contexts” on December 7 and 12, 2023
  • 4. “International Law in Crisis” on Monday, December 11, 2023
  • 5. “International Institutions and Sustainable Development” on November 29, 2024 at 16:15-18:00
  • 6. “Japanese Constitutionalism Now in Question” on December 9, 2025 at 19:30-20:45
  • 7. “International Law in a Turbulent World” on February 26, 2025 at 16:15-18:00
  • 8. “Democracy or Constitutionalism?” on July 22, 2025 at 1930-21:00
  • 9. “Environmental Sustainability and International Organizations” on December 12, 2025 at 16:30-18:00

Background: the importance of communication skills in higher education today

The Internet and the rapid development of generative AI have shifted the focus of higher education from the accumulation of knowledge to the development of communication skills. For example, in the last century, law students struggled to memorize key articles of the UN Charter or other legal texts. Today, these articles are readily available on the Internet. After mastering the specialized vocabulary, today’s college students should spend most of their energy in developing communication skills rather than memorizing specific information readily available on the Internet.

Why extend the academic conversation to high school students?

In the international law course at AIU, students pursue four steps in their learning:

• 1. Understanding the basic theory of the modern system of international law based the concept of state sovereignty,  
• 2. Understanding the defects of the modern system of international law as they appear in territorial disputes or trade disputes,
• 3. Conducting research on the present and future of the international legal system based on relevant legal texts and scholarly writings, and
• 4. Sharing their learning with a wider audience, e.g. high school students!

The involvement of high school students has become part of AIU students’ learning of international law. It gives them the opportunity to practice their academic and professional communication by conveying concepts from the course to a less-experienced audience in a way they can understand.

Sub-committee system of discussion

Each of these workshops adopts the sub-committee system of discussion. Participants are divided into small groups (“sub-committees”) and assigned to work on a more specific topic within the overall topic of the workshop. After group discussions, each group submits a written report to the plenary meeting and all members take part in the discussion there.

Join the workshops

The following future workshops are scheduled (including a workshop on modern European history!):

• 1.　“The Showa Constitution at Age 80” on July 14, 2026 at 19:00-21:00
• 2.　”International Law beyond Sovereignty?” on July 24, 2026 at 13:00-15:00
• 3.　”Legacy of Modern European History” on November 20 at 16:00-18:00
• 4.　”Japanese Constitutionalism in the World” on December 14 at 19:00-21:00

Calls for participation will be posted on the AIU website. For questions, please contact Prof. Toyoda.