Chukyo University
One of Japan’s premiere universities is Chukyo University which is situated in Aichi, Japan. This university has several campuses across the country, including in Showa-ku, Nagoya and in Toyota, Japan. This private institution was established in 1954 as the Chukyo Junior College Department of Business. Two years later it becomes the Chukyo University of School of Commerce and in 1957 it was incorporated into Chukyo University.
In 1959, the School of Health and Sport Sciences was established, which saw notable alumni rise to fame like Olympic skaters Mao Asada and Takahiko Kozuka, and Arsenal Football Player Ryo Miyaichi. Seven years after, the School of Letter and School of Law was established, and was followed by the Master’s program in Graduate School of Commerce in 1969.
The Master’s Program in the Graduate School of Letters was established in 1971. That year also saw the Doctoral program being added to the Graduate School of Commerce, and the transfer of the School of Health and Sport Sciences to the Toyota Campus.
In 1973, the Master’s Program in Japanese Language and Literature Major was established in Graduate School of Letters, followed by Master’s Program in Health and Sports Sciences Major in Graduate School of Health and Sports Sciences. Two years later, Graduate School of Law’s Master’s program followed suit. In 1982, up to 1984 2 Doctoral Programs were established. In 1986 and in 1987 the School of Sociology and School of Economics were established at the Toyota and Nagoya campuses respectively.
In 2007, the school experienced major reorganization with the School of Contemporary Sociology, which formed after the School of Sociology was reorganized. One year later in 2008, the School of International Liberal Studies was formed after the College of Liberal Arts was reorganized. In 2009, the School of Economics was formed after the curriculum was revised and a year later the school of Management experienced the same.
Today the Chukyo University offers 11 undergraduate schools and 9 graduate schools bridging the gap between humanities and the sciences. The university is also home to one of Japan’s notable robotic laboratories the Kanoh Laboratory.
Here researchers have developed the Babyloid, robot, a robot that is designed to help elderly people feel more alive by making them more active through taking good care of this baby robot. It is said that this robot can help fight depression among the elderly by giving them a companion to care for.
The Babyloid robot has a wide set of eyes, an unrealistic mouth, a furry body covering and really looks grotesque more than a baby. However it can burst into crying, smiles and can even make real baby noises. The laboratory is being headed by Professor Masayoshi Kanoh.
