In 2013, the author compared and examined debate-focused courses held in two universities located in Aichi, central Japan; details of the courses are as follows.

1. “Enshu 1” (Seminar 1), a first-semester course, was taught to third — and fourth — year students at Sugiyama Jogakuen University’s Department of Human Sciences.

2. “Introduction to debate,” a first-semester course, was taught to second — and third-year students at Aichi Shukutoku University’s Faculty of Global Culture and Communication.

3. “Introduction to debate,” this time a second-semester course, was taught to second — and third-year students at Aichi Shukutoku University’s Faculty of Global Culture and Communication.

By studying these classes, the author hoped, first, to elucidate how students understanding of the debate issue—the disposal of high-level radioactive waste— would be affected by the lessons; and, second, to assess the effectiveness of debating classes on issues related to natural science facing modern society. In addition, students completed a questionnaire, “Fundamental Literacy for Members of Society” (2). Through analysis of the results of this survey, the author sought to gain new insights into methodology to promote a deeper understanding among students of issues facing modern society.

The course as listed here had four main features. First, the theme of the debate was announced at the beginning of the course. Second, rather than having students choose the subject for debate, the topic was assigned to the students. The fact that the topic was a science-related one was the third feature of the course. Because the students were from a humanities/social sciences background, their basic knowledge of science was, on the whole, rather limited. Because there was some concern that students would not be able to cope with debate, efforts were made to deepen students’ understanding of the issues involved before the actual debating contest. For example, Hajimu Yamana, professor at the Kyoto University Research Reactor Institute (KURRI), and Tomohisa Kakefu of the Japan Science Foundation were invited as guest speakers, and students also visited the Mizunami Underground Research Laboratory and the visitor facilities at Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station.

The fourth feature of the course was, therefore, that students were not left to research the topic by themselves, but were supported by, for example, being given the opportunity to listen and talk to experts. In addition, there was an element of experiential learning incorporated into the course in the form of, for example, the visit to Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station just mentioned.