Sustainable Development Goals : reinvigorating the immediacy of the underlying issues and how SDGs can be used constructively in the Japanese university classroom.

It is the aim of this article to contribute towards the growing body of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) literature and inject a sense of urgency and authenticity into the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a powerful tool and are becoming more prominent in Japan, but the facts do not support their success. Their predecessors, the MDGs failed and almost certainly so will many of the SDGs. In actuality, many aspects of our social and environmental life will almost certainly get worse, not better, as 2030 quickly approaches. I feel this reality needs to be communicated more effectively and honestly with our learners. This paper proposes two university-level lessons to bridge this gap. We must approach these essential crises of sustainability head-on and not shy away from the task at hand. I hope the lesson ideas presented here can play a role in the encouragement of this.