Work & Education history

User Experience Researcher, Mercari Inc. 

Sep 2024 – Present 

-  Driving UX research to support the development of services and products in the e-commerce and fintech sectors through both qualitative and quantitative research.

- Mercari Inc. is primarily known for its consumer-to-consumer (C2C) marketplace app which enables individuals to buy and sell a wide range of items. Launched in Japan in 2013, the app has become the country's largest mobile marketplace.

- Topics I have worked for: BaaS, credit-based payment services, cryptocurrency, NFT 

Sr. Research Scientist, Huawei Technologies Canada

Jan 2018 – Feb 2023 

- Led user research projects for multiple R&D projects, including, driving quality monitoring and reporting application for in-vehicle information systems, mid-air bare-hand gesture input for smart TV, and timeline-based personal information management system. The research outputs for the gesture project were implemented in the product (Huawei X65). The product received the Good Design Award in Japan in 2020.

- Conducted the entire user research process, including identifying issues through literature reviews, ideation, research planning and design, data analysis, and presenting insights along with proposed solutions.

- Worked in multiple R&D project teams consists of multi-cultural and multi-disciplinal members (including developers, designers). 

- Coordinated collaborative research projects with universities.

- Organized internal seminars approximately once a month, inviting internal and external guests to share information on the latest research trends. Contributed to knowledge sharing and networking.

- Contributed to innovation by serving as a member of the patent review board within the lab, reviewing new ideas prior to the patent application process.

- Co-authored 8 filed patent applications and 6 international conference papers.

Scientific Associate, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute  

Jan 2016 – Apr 2017

- Designed a driving simulator experiment to investigate the effect of opioids on driving performance.

Chief Scientist, Vocalage Inc. 

May 2010 – Dec 2015 

- Conducted a series of funded research projects on driver cognitive workload for Toyota InfoTechnology Center with University of Toronto (contracted through Vocalage Inc). 

- As the lead researcher, designed and conducted experiments and surveys to investigate the effect of different types of cognitive distractions on driving-related performance and examined individual differences. 

- Apart from the project reports with findings and insights from the research, published 7 international conference papers, conducted10 technology reviews regarding estimation method of driver’s status, novel way to communicate with drivers with graphics.

- Served as the HF&UX research lead in the Smart Driver Notification (SDN) project under Ontario Centres of Excellence program with Inago Corporation. 

- Conducted literature reviews to identify factors to increase drivers cognitive workload, planed, designed and conducted user studies, which included test course driving as well as laboratory experiments for concept validation.

- The research outcomes (cognitive workload reasoner) were integrated into the prototype SDN system. 

Researcher, Toyota InfoTechnology Center              

Jul 2008 – Apr 2010

- Worked for multiple technical research projects including non-contact physiological sensing technology, method for evaluation of automotive HMI, Survey on the sense of ownership in automobiles, methods to enhance the security of cars.

- Conducted literature reviews, identified research issues, facilitated communication between the client (Toyota) and collaborators (University researchers and other collaborators), supported to set up of project goals and schedule, managed progress, and reported results to the client. 

- Co-authored 2 filed patent applications and 1 international conference paper.

Researcher (part-time contract), The Nielsen Norman Group         

Jul 2000 – Aug 2000

- Designed and conducted contextual user interviews in Japan to investigate assistive technologies for people with visual and motor impairments.

- The results were published in Usability Guidelines for Accessible Web Design.

Sr. Usability Engineer/ Research Scientist, Nokia 

Nov 1999 – Jun 2008  

- As a member of global product usability team, conducted UX research with usability tests, field observations, interviews, diary studies, reported results and provided design recommendations to the product teams. 

- Projects: text input usability, pen UI (the research output was adopted for the design of Nokia 6108), usability and effectiveness of stereoscopic displays, UX of mobile IPv6 network service on trains funded by Japanese government, Human-Robot Interaction (pre-project survey on user attachment on artificial object, and user testing on human perception of robot motion).

- Co-authored 4 filed patent applications, Published 7 international conference papers and 1 journal paper.

Research member, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT)              

Apr 1995 – Oct 1999

- Conducted UX evaluation of Video on Demand (VOD) trial service (one year project with Microsoft with 300 home participants)

Ph.D. in Media and Governance (Human Computer Interaction), Keio University, Japan, Mar 2005

M.A. in Cognitive Psychology (Human memory), Waseda University, Japan, Mar 1995

B.A. in Cognitive Psychology (Human memory), Waseda University, Japan, Mar 1993