Practice negotiation and mediation with role-play exercises
Overview
The primary themes of this workshop are negotiation, mediation, and compassion. Negotiation is a process of reaching an agreement through one-on-one dialogue; as it relies on two-way interaction, it directly fosters communication skills. While mediation differs from negotiation in its dialogue structure—involving a neutral third party to facilitate the conversation—it aims to coordinate interactions among multiple parties, making it a valuable process for ensuring smooth team communication and resolving conflicts or problems. Compassion—often translated as "kindness" or "empathetic concern"—is a concept that has recently garnered attention for its role in building positive interpersonal relationships.
In this course, students will learn how to systematically structure dialogue through lectures on negotiation and mediation theories. They will also aim to enhance their practical communication skills through repeated role-playing exercises. Additionally, the course will include exercises designed to deepen the understanding of compassion.
| 📂 Category | Initiative |
| 📌 Keywords | Negotiation, Mediation, Consensus Building, Role-play, Compassion |
| 🎯 Objective | Experience negotiation through role-plays, and learn the concepts necessary for consensus-building |
| 🌐 Language | Japanese & English |
| 👥 Target Participants | Graduate & undergraduate students |
| 🗓 Format | 2 sessions (5.5 hours x 2, attendance for all sessions required; in-person) |
| ✅ Past & Upcoming Sessions | #1; Wednesday, February 10, 2027, 13:00-18:30 #2; Thursday, February 11, 2027, 13:00-18:30 Held annually since FY2019 |
| 📍 Venue | S4-202, 2nd floor, South Building 4, Ookayama |
| 🌟 Recommended for | - Students who want to improve their communication skills - Students who want to be able to express their opinions clearly |
| 📊 Points | 11 points in total (Points to be awarded to students enrolled in the courses for credits. Please refer to the syllabus for details.) |
| 🎟️ Capacity | 30 participants |
Main Content
Session 1: Negotiation
What is negotiation? Why is negotiation skill valuable?
1. Basic theories of negotiation
2. Role-play 1 (Sales/Purchase negotiation)
3. Role-play 2 (Business negotiation)
4. Analysis of negotiation styles
Session 2: Mediation and Compassion
Dialogue and Empathy as a Neutral Third Party
1. Basic theory of mediation
2. Role-playing (problem-solving involving multiple parties)
3. What is compassion, and why is it needed in today's world?
Facilitator
Mayu Watanabe, Ph.D
Specially Appointed Professor
Center for Entrepreneurship Education
Institute of Science Tokyo
Specializes in civil dispute resolution procedures and has taught negotiation, mediation, ODR, and Legal Design classes.
Mayu Watanabe is a member of the ODR Promotion Council of the Ministry of Justice, a board member of the Japan ODR Association.
Also a Visiting Fellow at the Gould Negotiation and Dispute Resolution Center at Stanford Law School
(2014-2016), Senior Fellow for the Weinstein
International Foundation (2017-present), Fellow of the National Center for Technology and Dispute Resolution at the University of Massachusetts (2021-present).
Yuri Matsuzaki, Ph.D.
Specially Appointed Professor, Center for Entrepreneurship Education, Institute of Science Tokyo
Dr. Matsuzaki specializes in bioinformatics and systems biology, fields that bridge multiple scientific disciplines. Her research includes simulating signal transduction in prokaryotic cells and predicting large-scale protein interactions.
Since 2014, she has been engaged in education at the Institute of Science Tokyo, first as a specially appointed assistant professor and lecturer in the Doctoral Leading Program, Academy for Computational Life Sciences (ACLS). Since 2018, she has been a faculty member in the Tokyo Tech Academy for Leadership (ToTAL). Her work focuses on developing leadership programs to help students take ownership of their doctoral research.
Past Event Records
Voices from Participants
- Instead of learning good negotiation techniques, you will learn the essence of negotiation and the types of negotiations there. I think it is a valuable workshop to learn how to negotiate to build a win-win relationship, not win/lose. (M2, OPEN student) (M2, OPEN student)
- Before participating in this workshop, I did not have a good and negative image of negotiation. However, after participating in the workshop, I changed my image of negotiation, and it was a good opportunity to learn the necessity of negotiation. (D1, OPEN student)
- This was the second time I participated in this workshop, and I learned more deeply by being aware of the issues and points I reflected on the first time. Because I was able to learn through experience, I deepened my understanding. I highly recommend attending the second session as well as the first. (M2,ToTAL student)
- We could really learn how to negotiate hands-on. (D2,ToTAL student)
Event Report
Contact Faculty
Mayu Watanabe, Specially Appointed Professor, Academy for Leadership
📩 watanabe.m.6bd9 [at] m.isct.ac.jp
