My research overall focuses on the dynamic changes of modern and contemporary Japanese culture and society in a global context, especially around the themes of emerging adulthood, migration, the social construction of place, space, gender and race, civil society and social sustainability. I conduct interdisciplinary, transnational, multi-method research to examine how a range of individuals address social, political and economic frictions in an effort to redirect their own life courses while also achieving social sustainability across national borders. I use the life stories of individuals to help highlight changes in current society in an attempt to foster solutions and a diversification of perceptions of ideal futures.

My dissertation “Japan’s Generation Z on the Move: Moratorium, Maturity and Home-making” analyzed how migration and cultural exchange impact notions of self, society, and decision making of emerging adults in search of a place to call home in Japan. My research has been funded by international grants and has been presented at international conferences.

Currently I am working with the Center of Taiwan Studies at UCSB to create a “Made in Taiwan” Database of life stories of people who grew up in Taiwan.