Debate Club

Challenge yourself without pressure! Enjoy debating while honing foundational argumentation and diverse perspectives.

Overview

This peer-teaching workshop is proposed by international students from ToTAL and led by students. Faculty members provide guidance as needed while ensuring smooth facilitation.

The first three “Theory” sessions introduce the basics of debate, its benefits, and the workshop’s structure, followed by an icebreaker game or a debate skill-building activity. Afterward, in the “Debate” sessions, participants will engage in debates on specific topics.

📂 Category	Initiative
📌 Keywords	Debate, Logical Thinking, Public Speaking, Persuasion, Critical Thinking, Diverse Perspectives
🎯 Objectives	– Overcome the fear of public speaking and build confidence in delivering arguments. – Develop logical structuring skills and persuasive argumentation. – Improve clarity and effectiveness in communication.
🌐 Language	English and Japanese sessions will be held on separate days.
👥 Target Participants	Graduate & Undergraduate Students
🗓 Format	6 sessions (2 hours x 3, 1.5 hours x 3, in-person) Recommended: Attend the full series, especially the first session. Single-session participation is also welcome. If you are participating in the Debate Club for credit, please take on the debater’s role for at least one session.
✅ Past & Upcoming Sessions	Theory sessions: #1  introduction to debate: Tuesday May 12th, 2026, 18:00-20:00 #2 Strong argumentation, rebuttals Tuesday May 19th, 2026, 18:00-20:00 #3 Persuasive argumentation, reading the room Tuesday May 26th, 2026, 18:00-20:00 JOINT SESSION WITH TSUTAERU LOUNGE: 17:00-18:00 TUESDAY JUNE 2ND (BEFORE DEBATE!) Debate sessions: #1 Tuesday June 2nd, 2026, 18:00-19:30 #2 Tuesday June 9th, 2026, 18:00-19:30 #3 Tuesday June 16th, 2026, 18:00-19:30 Held every semester since FY2023
📍 Venue	S6-309A, Ookayama Campus
🌟 Recommended for	– Those who want to enhance logical thinking and persuasive speaking skills. – Those who feel uneasy about public speaking and want to gain confidence in expressing themselves. – Those who want to strengthen their critical thinking through practical debate.
📊 Points	2 points for each session (total 12 points) (Points to be awarded to students enrolled in the courses for credits. Please refer to the syllabus for details.)
🎟️ Capacity	20 participants

Past Debate Topics

• Sustainable production practices should be legally mandatory for global supply chains
• Universities should treat mental health services as equally important as academic services
• Urban greenspaces are more important than expanding transportation infrastructure in modern cities
• Human gene editing should be legally permitted for disease prevention
• The development of AI should be paused until global regulations are in place
• We should invest more in space exploration
• Non-violent criminals should do community service instead of serving prison time

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Facilitators – ToTAL TA Team

Past Event Records

Event Report

Contact Faculty

Yuri Matsuzaki, Specially Appointed Associate Professor, Academy for Leadership
📩 matsuzaki.y.77a9 [at] m.isct.ac.jp