Kyoto University

Faculty Member, Graduate School of Economics

Professor

About

My area of expertise is in political economy of food and agriculture in the context of globalisation and localisation.

I have conducted field research mainly in Japan. But, under globalisation of political economy, we should not limit ourselves to research within each nation-state. I'm now trying to "globalise" myself so as to catch up with globalisation of agro-food system. I am a member of; International Sociological Association (Research Committee of Agriculture and Food), Rural Sociological Society, Agriculture, Food, and Human Value Society, and European Society of Agriculture and Food Ethics. So far, I've conducted field research in the USA, the Netherlands, the UK, South Korea, China, Argentina, and Brazil.

My research subjects while I was working at Wageningen University were as follows: i) participant observation of interdisciplinary program for agricultural technology research & education, ii) research on the realities of the "appropriate biotechnologies" under the public-private shift, and iii) research on the policy-making process in OECD, EU and the United Nations (FAO), especially for agro-biotechnology regulation. Now my research is also focused on the potentiality and limitations of agribusiness CSR initiatives, including codes of ethics and corporate conduct, and various social and environmental standards, certification and labelling schemes. Furthermore, I'm now researching on the feasibility of the concept of Food Security, Food Sovereignty, and the Right to Food for All.

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