At APSA 2025 in Vancouver, Kentaro Fukumoto and I presented a new paper. In Japanese municipal assembly elections, ties sometimes occur; in such cases, the winner is determined by lottery. We show that the incumbency effects estimated from lottery elections are different from those estimated by RDD. We’re looking forward to sharing a working paper soon!
APSA 2025 (Short Course): When Elders Rule
At APSA 2025 in Vancouver, I presented new work with Aksel Sundstrom and Daniel Stockemer as part of the short course on Young Elected Leaders: Perspectives on Age and Elected Leaders. We find evidence that boosting youth representation can increase perceptions of fairness, decision quality, and trust in democratic institutions. An earlier draft of our manuscript is available online, but we’re looking forward to sharing the updated paper soon!
Yale Young Global Scholars
This month, I’m excited to again join the Yale Young Global Scholars program! I’ll be giving three talks on youth representation to 450 high school students from over 60 countries. Looking forward to hearing whether they’d ever consider running for office.
University of Toronto: Japan Conference
I was delighted to participate in this inaugural conference on Japan hosted by Phillip Lipscy at the University of Toronto’s Centre for the Study of Global Japan. The plan is for us to host the second conference here at Yale, so stay tuned for more details!
Stanford: Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
I greatly enjoyed visiting Stanford’s Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, a part of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, to discuss my book project on youth representation and its implications for policymaking and democracy.
Wesleyan: Deepening U.S.-Japan Ties Beyond Security
I visited Wesleyan University to join this great symposium on deepening U.S.-Japan ties beyond security. I discussed my book’s focus on gerontocracy and the struggle to get young people involved in politics—key challenges for both countries. Thanks to everyone who joined!
Georgetown: Walsh School of Foreign Service (Asian Studies Program)
On February 27, I had a great time discussing my book project at the Asian Studies Program in Georgetown’s Walsh School of Foreign Service. Grateful to everyone who came for their questions and feedback, and special thanks to Trevor Incerti for the invitation.
Fletcher School: What's Next for Asia?
I was delighted to speak on a panel with Aram Hur for the newly launched Fletcher Asia Forum’s first event at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. We shared insights from our research and discussed long-standing issues in East Asia that shape its democratic and diplomatic future with the United States.
Louisville Center for Asian Democracy: Inside Asia Podcast
I had a great time joining David Buckley’s Inside Asia podcast at the University of Louisville’s Center for Asian Democracy to discuss the LDP's recent election performance—and what the results reveal about youth participation and representation in Japan's rapidly aging society. We also chatted about snap elections!
Tufts: Department of Political Science
I returned to my alma mater, Tufts University, to talk about my book project. It was great to reconnect and discuss how youth representation can shape public policy and democracy.
Harvard: Program on U.S.-Japan Relations
I visited Harvard University’s Program on U.S.-Japan Relations to discuss my book project on youth representation and its impact on policymaking and democracy—just a day after Japan's election!
Yale Young Global Scholars
Today, I enjoyed giving a talk about youth representation for a great group of 150 high school students from 50+ countries, who are here participating in the Yale Young Global Scholars program. It was particularly nice to hear their thoughts about ways we can encourage more young people to run for office.
Source: https://globalscholars.yale.edu
Capitol Hill: Mansfield U.S.-Japan Network for the Future
I visited Capitol Hill to discuss gerontocracy and youth representation as part of a Mansfield Foundation U.S.-Japan Network for the Future event.
NCCU: Summer School on Political Parties and Democracy
I discussed my book project with a group of MA/PhD researchers participating in the 4th Asian Summer School on Political Parties and Democracy at National Chengchi University (NCCU) in Taipei.
NYU: Frontiers in Empirical Research on East Asia
At this NYU conference, I presented new work (with Yuki Shiraito) on “Voter Preferences for Young and Female Candidates: Comparing Conjoint Experiments with Real-World Behavior.”
Georgetown: The US-Japan Partnership in the 21st Century
I spoke about challenges for democracy in the US and Japan at this Georgetown conference.
Princeton: Global Japan Lab
I visited Princeton’s Global Japan Lab to give a talk about my research and the job market for social scientists working on Japan.
UCSD: How Japan’s Aging Politicians Affect Policy Choices
I talked about my book project for the UCSD School of Global Policy and Strategy’s Japan Forum for Innovation and Technology.
Daiwa: Youth Political Representation in an Aging Japan
I talked about my book project at the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation.