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1. DE&I (Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion) + Belonging
While societies increasingly champion diversity as a core value, a critical question continues to demand our attention: whose voices have been heard, and whose voices have been historically silenced and marginalized? Engaging seriously with this question requires more than analyzing current institutions and conditions or disseminating DEI principles. It requires a careful, historically grounded examination of which groups have been excluded by which mechanisms over time. Without this historical inquiry, DEI practice — even when aimed at transformation — risks reproducing the very structures of exclusion it seeks to dismantle.
Grounded in this problem awareness, my research explores approaches to DEI practice that deepen mutual understanding through both historical inquiry and sustained dialogue among people of diverse backgrounds, framed by an integrative approach with Social Emotional Learning (SEL). I am particularly interested in how equitable dialogue can foster genuine mutual understanding and cultivate a sense of Belonging.
2. Social Emotional Learning（SEL)
Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is an educational framework that aims to develop the capacity to understand and manage one's own and others' emotions, build strong relationships, and make responsible decisions. It is centered on the five core competencies articulated by CASEL (2015): self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. In Japan, SEL has developed primarily in the context of primary and secondary education, but I believe that its practical extension into adult and higher education has become an urgent priority in an increasingly diverse society.
I am particularly drawn to the perspective of Transformative SEL (TSEL) proposed by Jagers et al. (2019), which reframes SEL not as the acquisition of individual coping skills but as a process oriented toward the co-construction of equitable relationships and a just society. Building on this problem awareness, I pursue an integrative approach with Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB), engaging in the development of DEI training programs in higher education and the design and implementation of international co-learning disaster preparedness workshops. The central concern of my research is to empirically examine how adults develop contextualized SEL competencies and cultivate Belonging through dialogue among participants of diverse backgrounds.
3. International Co-Learning and Disaster Preparedness
"International co-learning" is an educational practice in which learners of diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds collaborate on equal terms, questioning and reshaping their own and others' perceptions through mutual learning. It does not emerge merely from being in the same space; it requires ensuring psychological safety, establishing equitable roles, and setting a shared challenge that is genuinely urgent to all participants. The theme I have focused on as such a challenge is disaster preparedness. Disasters affect all residents regardless of visa status or language proficiency, yet their impact falls unevenly along the lines of structural social position. It is precisely this duality that makes disaster preparedness both a domain that demands collaboration across cultural difference and a medium through which structures of exclusion — often invisible in everyday life — can be brought to light.
I develop international co-learning programs grounded in DEI and SEL frameworks, and through action research, I examine transformations in participants' sense of Belonging and their relationships with one another. Through collaboration with local governments, I aim to extend this practice from the university into the wider community.
4. Initiatives for UPWARDS for the Future Network
UPWARDS (the U.S.–Japan University Partnership for Workforce Advancement and Research and Development in Semiconductors) is an international initiative in which universities and industry partners across the United States and Japan collaborate to advance research, development, and workforce cultivation in the semiconductor field.
As the lead of Pillar 2 (the advancement of women), I work to broaden women's participation in STEM and semiconductor fields and to foster learning environments grounded in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). In recent years, I have focused on designing and delivering project-based learning (PBL) workshops that help students grasp the societal significance of the semiconductor field and envision their own future engagement with it.
These activities are carried out in collaboration with my institution's enSET and SiCA (semiconductor talent development) programs, as well as with partner institutions such as Tohoku University and industry partners including Micron and Tokyo Electron. Through joint workshops and career events that reach across institutional boundaries, this work contributes to exchange between U.S. and Japanese students and to widening the pipeline of next-generation talent.
It is closely connected to my broader research interests in Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and DEI education, pursuing—through both practice and research—inclusive, psychologically safe environments in which students can explore their potential.
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