I was born in 1973 and grew up in Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture. After majoring in the sociology of law at Waseda University, I served as an assistant professor of the Institute of Social Science, The University of Tokyo and an associate professor of the Faculty of Law, Tokyo Metropolitan University. I took up a post at the College of Policy Science in April 2007. Doctor of Law and a certified advanced social surveyor. I stayed in France twice as a visiting researcher at ENS de Cachan. I was a visiting researcher at University of California, Berkeley, the U.S. from 2014 to 2015. In 2016, I won the 12th JSPS Prize.

I conduct the research on the implementation process mainly of legal systems about land use and environmental regulations. I mainly focus on urban themes, such as the rules governing buildings and landscape, management of condominiums and residential areas, and supply of parks and greenery. Recently, I have started to study the Forest Law and the Agricultural Law. At present, I conduct the research of customary rights on forest land called “rights of common.” In addition to research on State's laws, I have also conducted research on the phenomenon in which local governments and local communities manage their common resources and space by establishing their own rules as institutions while being affected by law. I aim to conduct research on social science focusing on comparison and history.

Did you know that, at Ritsumeikan University, the term “kyogaku” is used instead of “kyoiku” (education)? “Kyogaku” has a positive meaning that undergraduate and graduate students are not merely instructed and that academic staff co-create the university and research environment while learning from undergraduate and graduate students. I hope to follow this ideal with you. Students who are interested in real estate, cities, agriculture, and forests, who want to contribute to local areas and communities, and who like to read books about sociology, philosophy, and thought are invited to join our laboratory. International students from Asia and Africa who are interested in the relationship between customary rights and land use are also welcome.

sociology of law, land policy, community/commons theory, ownership theory, urban/environmental law