Research Interests
I am a researcher, Ph.D student and JSPS Scholarship Fellow at the University of Tokyo (Graduate School of Arts and Sciences).
My main research interest incluides: Sociology of Health and Illness, Transgender Studies, STS(Science, Technology and Society), Feminist studies, Disability studies
Social Media
Research Project currently working in Doctoral Programme (2023/4- 2027/3(est. )): Trans Healthcare in Japan
How has trans medicine evolved, or remained unchanged, from the 1990s to the 2020s? What challenges do trans and gender-diverse (TGD) healthcare seekers face in accessing trans healthcare? This series of project aims to provide a foundation for these debates by theorising the structures that establish (or undermine) ‘trans medicine’ in Japan.
Theme 1: Shifting Medical Discourses and Healthcare Frameworks in the "Depathologization Era"
Investigating the relationship between 'social' models of trans and disability within medical professional discourses (Article: Work In Progress)
Theme 2: Clinical Encounters in Trans Medicine within Contemporary Medical Models
Assessing the roles and expertise of professionals in trans healthcare (Conference presentation: Done in ISA Forum 2025)
Theme 3: Plurality of Healthcare Access Pathways and Its Consequences
Identifying unintended consequences arising from the "dysfunction" of medical guidelines (Conference presentation: Done in Japan)
Understanding the implications of multiple healthcare access pathways (Interview: Done)
Research methods: Predominantly qualitative!
1. medical discourse research
2. interview with trans healthcare professionals (Done: 23 participants)
3. interview with trans healthcare seekers (Done: 50 participants)
My Master Thesis Project (2021/4-2023/3)
Master's thesis: Depathologisation and Health Care Access for Gender Transition: (De)pathologisation in the Trans Medicine in Contemporary Japan
Specifically, the thesis clarified "how the pathologisation of gender diverse people and the access of the trans medicine have been related in the medical field in contemporary Japan".
In recent years, there has been a growing focus on the issue of depathologization in gender-affirming medical care. This movement aims to challenge the classification of gender nonconformity as a psychiatric pathology and advocates for providing medical care without pathologizing individuals. My master thesis explores the relationship between pathologization and medical access in Japan; it covers healthcare professionals' perspectives, institutional processes, and individuals' experiences. By examining these aspects, it contributes to discussions on pathologization, medical access, and the lived experiences of gender nonconforming individuals in Japan.
Themes specifically focused on in the master's thesis included:
Tensions between medical sociology and trans studies (methodological decisions / theoretical explrolations)
Processes of constructing the legitimacy of treatment for gender transition
Research methods: historical sociology (medicalisation theory), medical discourse studies
The relationship between 'official' gender transition medicine and other forms of access to healthcare
Research methods: fieldwork, medical discourse, documentary research
Processes and effects of diagnosis in trans medicine
Research methods: interviews with people using trans medicine
Ambivalence of people using trans medicine, regarding pathological concepts, against diagnostic models and toward medical interventions
Research methods: interviews with people using trans medicine.