Japanese and Economics

Japanese and economics is a combination that gives you direct linguistic access to one of the world's most significant and distinctive economies alongside the analytical tools to understand it. Japanese is the language of one of the largest economies on earth, a country whose approach to business, manufacturing, and technology has shaped global commerce in profound ways and whose cultural exports in film, art, literature, and design have attracted worldwide interest. Economics provides the framework for understanding how markets, firms, and governments make decisions, and how those decisions produce the outcomes we observe in Japan and in the wider global economy.

At the School of Oriental and African Studies, this four-year full-time programme with a foundation year draws on SOAS's unparalleled expertise in the languages and cultures of Asia to offer a degree that combines genuine Japanese language proficiency with rigorous economic analysis. The foundation year provides a supported entry point before the main degree, making the programme accessible to students who want to build their academic and linguistic foundations. You will develop your Japanese from beginner or intermediate level to a high standard, engaging with written and spoken Japanese alongside the cultural, historical, and contemporary context that makes language knowledge meaningful, and you will study microeconomics, macroeconomics, and applied economic analysis alongside topics directly relevant to the Japanese and Asian economic context.

Graduates are well-placed for careers in international business, finance, consultancy, diplomacy, translation, education, and the cultural sector, particularly in roles that require engagement with Japan or the broader Asia-Pacific region. Japanese language competence combined with economic knowledge is a rare and valued combination in organisations with Japanese partners, operations, or markets. Many graduates continue to postgraduate study in economics, Japanese studies, international relations, or area studies.