Faculty

Human Sciences
Quantitative Method, Social Statistics, Social Survey Research Method, Family Sociology, Sociology of Social Welfare and Policy

My research is concerned with methods of data analysis for both quantitative and qualitative data. Using these methods, I have been researching following theme: relationship between social structure and mental health, continuity and change of marital relationship, structure and changes of one's life course, and so on. Recently I have been concerned with intergenerational reproduction of poverty and its effect on one's life course, as well as the effects of social welfare policy on them.

Human Sciences
Social Psychology

My research interests include social power, interpersonal influences such as requests and persuasion, and disaster prevention. The subjects of my recent study are threefold: interactive persuasion, bases of social power, and temporary evacuation centers on campus. The purpose of the first subject is to reorganize the determinants of persuasion considering the characteristics of persuasive themes based on interactive persuasion between the source and the target. The second is to comprehend the bases of social power based on studies of change in power holders’ cognition of their holding of social power. The third is to create a list of procedures from the perspective of social psychology that would enable campus evacuation centers to help survivors following a huge earthquake.

Human Sciences
Sociological Theory, Mathematical Sociology, Quantitative Sociology

I am interested in explaining macroscopic social phenomena such as institutions, social norms, and social change, using rational choice theory and game theory. I am also interested in theoretical and empirical research on social justice including social stratification and redistribution.

Human Sciences
Medical Anthropology, History of Psychiatry

I am a medical anthropologist with interests encompassing the anthropology of science, biomedicine and psychiatry; depression and suicide; aging and dementia; and global health and preventive medicine. My book Depression in Japan (Princeton Univ. Press, 2012) examines the rise of depression and the emergence of psychiatry as a force of social transformation in Japan. My current project on dementia investigates the changing landscape of aging in the genomic age and the global psychiatrization of the life cycle.

Human Sciences
Anthropology, African Area Studies

I have conducted anthropological research on conflict and peace issues. My main research questions are: Why do people take part in the war, what type of experiences do people have in the battlefield, and how do people build and maintain peace in conflict-ridden areas? Currently, I am also researching how large-scale development projects have influenced the livelihood of local people in Africa.

Human Sciences
Social Psychology

I have been conducting experiments which demonstrate the relation between social cognitive processes and linguistic communication.

Human Sciences
Sociology

I conduct my research from a sociological point of view, focusing on our responsibilities within society. In addition to issues concerning civil and criminal liability, I am interested in how modern empirical sciences relate to human freedom, morality, and social institutions.

Human Sciences
Evolutuionary Psychology, Social Psychology

My primary research interest is in understanding human psychology from the perspective of Darwinian natural selection. In order to develop and strengthen the methodological foundation for such inquiry, I have been focusing on the replicability problem in psychology for the past several years.