Junior Scholars

Miyu Funahashi is a junior-year student at Soka University of America, concentrating on Social and Behavioral Sciences. Her academic interests align with how the parental relationship differently influences children’s cognitive and emotional development in distinct cultures. In SUA, she has researched with Dr. Chang about the association between the mother-daughter dyad and daughter’s eating disorders. Moreover, with the support of a 2024 PBRC summer grant, she has participated in a research project in Dr. Chen’s lab at the University of California, Irvine, exploring the gender differences in depressive symptomology in China. These research opportunities made her realize the majority of psychological research is oriented in Western countries (commonly called WEIRD culture: western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic nation). Different cultures largely influence psychological pathologies and child development; therefore, the findings from the WEIRD cultures are not necessarily accurate in other regions, such as East Asian countries. In order to contribute to filling the gap, Miyu will continue researching with Dr. Chang and Dr. Chen and conduct independent research on how different parenting styles in different cultures influence children’s development.

Hailing from Indonesia, I had entered higher education with a commitment to tackling complex urban challenges. I developed an interest in realizing SDG 11: sustainable city planning, in my home country. Pursuing a liberal arts education has provided a robust foundation through several major projects across disciplines, including parsing historical archives, visualizing environmental data, and conducting social research. Such diverse training has solidified my commitment and ability to realize humanistic development, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, a critical hotbed of contemporary urban development. My upcoming capstone will build on this interest by exploring the emerging study of megaprojects in this part of the world, analyzing their outcomes and future viability as drivers of social and economic change. I look forward to sharing these research goals with the Junior Scholars and the PBRC.

I am Yuji Ishiyama, a senior student from Japan, concentrating in Humanities and International Studies. As I go through the interdisciplinary curriculum at SUA, my interests in politics and cultures in East Asia have grown. I was selected as a student research fellow at Soka Institute for Global Solutions (SIGS) for three years and explored measures to develop peaceful relationships in East Asia, where divergent perspectives on political, historical, and ideological issues undermine the regional coherence. I am currently working on the capstone project with Professor John Kehlen about one of the most prominent Japanese writers, Tanizaki Junichiro’s view of ideological and societal shifts in prewar Japan in his novel The Makioka Sisters. With the support of the PBRC, I seek to reveal Tanizaki’s hidden but keen insights into critical features of prewar Japanese society that play key roles in the rise of totalitarianism.

I am Bidisha Kaphle, a sophomore student from Nepal, majoring in International Studies with a passion for International Development, particularly in South Asia. I am interested and involved in advocating for women’s issues and equitable education in the region. With support from the PBRC Summer Grant, I completed my project, Pratidhwani, which worked to bridge the gap between education and advocacy for high school students and middle-aged women in Nepal. Currently, as a Research Assistant for Prof. Lisa MacLeod, I contribute to her study on Women, Peace, and Security—a UN Thematic issue, enhancing my understanding of this field. Serving as a board member of the UNA Chapter at Soka, I have been able to actively work towards the SDGs on campus and in the community. My passion for education and advocacy stems from my hope for a globally accessible and aware community, particularly benefiting those in the developing world.

Vedant Kohli is a sophomore concentrating in Social & Behavioural Sciences, hailing from India. Having witnessed the dawn of the Information Age, Vedant found immersive storytelling as a commercially squandered niche. Recognizing its power to alter space, time, consciousness, and the texture of social reality, he observes that immersive storytelling is being tremendously underutilised for positive contributions to humanity. Consequently, he is interested in researching the effects of a global synthesis of Film, Artificial Intelligence, and Politics. Vedant hopes to predict the impact of strategically influencing public sentiment using soft power, amplifying its effects at the political level through an automated voting interface aimed at democratising policy-making. Thereby, renewing people’s interest to participate in democracy and empowering them to do so in a meaningfully entertaining way.

Jun Sawada is a sophomore working in academic research and filmmaking.  Born and raised in South America’s largest city, São Paulo, in a third-generation nikkei household, Jun’s research interests are Japanese-Brazilian history and Asian-Latino identity. He is concentrating in Humanities and International Studies. 
 
In the Summer of 2023, through the PBRC Research Grant, Jun worked as the research assistant to Dr. Monica Okamoto, who investigated the concentration camps and persecution of Japanese-Brazilians in the 1940s for the University of Victoria’s project Landscapes of Injustice. Gaining experience in historical document management, investigation, and outreach, Jun is involved in the pioneer movement of rescuing the forgotten history of the persecution of Asians in Brazil. Alongside research projects, Jun is a Transnational Filmmaker, producing short films and documentaries that vocalize different subjects through narrative. 
 
Besides his native language, Portuguese, Jun is fluent in English, Advanced in French, Intermediate in Spanish, and Beginner in Japanese. 
 
It is amidst his diverse backgrounds, languages, research interests, and artistic productions that Jun seeks to bring different voices and narratives to the Pacific Basin Research Center.

Blair Tran is a junior concentrating in Environmental Studies and Social Behavioral Sciences at Soka. Originally from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, she is an avid policy advocate whose research interests lie at the nexus of economics, energy policy, and environmental sustainability. She is passionate about the energy markets, policy and technology, with a commitment to advancing decarbonization strategies that ensure an inclusive energy transition for all walks of society.

Blair’s dedication to advancing low-carbon solutions is reflected in her research and consulting roles at United Nations Development Program in Hanoi, Vietnam and the Zero Emissions Innovation Center (ZEIC) in Vancouver, Canada. These experiences have deepened her understanding of clean energy policy, impact analysis, and stakeholder engagement in renewable energy projects. Looking forward, she aspires to leverage her analytical skills to help businesses achieve their corporate sustainability goals incorporating Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles, while continuing her studies in exploring innovative policy solutions for climate and energy issues.

Outside of academics, Blair enjoys slow days by the Laguna Beach waters, exploring museum exhibitions and documenting her travel experiences with friends.

Masashiro Uchida is a third-year student from Japan concentrating in Social and Behavioral Sciences. Fascinated by the beauty of logic in mathematics, he has experience in researching graph theory and tutoring linear algebra at the university level. At Soka University, he has learned about the diverse applications of mathematics in fields such as physics, economics, and social sciences and is now interested in using his mathematical knowledge to analyze real-world phenomena, particularly human behavior and decision-making.

Born and raised in Japan, he has witnessed significant hatred among some people in Asia, especially among East Asian countries. He has observed that the rise of social networking services (SNS) has amplified negative emotions toward other countries by rapidly spreading biased information. As a result, he is currently exploring the spread of hatred via SNS in the Asia region using his knowledge of graph theory. He aims to determine the network dynamics on SNS and identify which parts of the network influence the spread of such information. He believes that understanding the factors causing people to spread hatred toward other countries will help in finding ways to address and mitigate these negative emotions.

Sampson Apenteng Osei is a Life Sciences student passionate about using biomedical research to confront global health disparities. He has a strong background in both biology and chemistry, with research spanning genetic regulators of thrombosis at the University of Michigan Frankel Cardiovascular Center, nanoparticle filtration optimization, and the synthesis of anticancer compounds at Soka University of America under the supervision of Prof. Zahra Afrasiabi. Growing up in a region heavily impacted by preventable disease shaped his commitment to improving health outcomes across the Pacific Basin. As a PBRC Junior Scholar, he aims to advance research that uplifts communities and fosters equitable access to care. Sampson has presented his initial research findings at the American Chemical Society National Conference in 2024 and 2025. He plans to pursue a Ph.D. in biomedical science and continue bridging research with impactful global health solutions.

Richmond grew up in Accra, Ghana, and is a sophomore concentrating in economics. His research focuses on the economic drivers behind Ghana’s national debt crisis and persistent inflation, investigating fiscal policies, external influences, and their social and economic implications. His entrepreneurial background also includes co-founding Banaweave, a startup based on banana fiber innovation, which won a $10,000 seed grant at the Fowler Global Social Innovation Challenge in San Diego in 2023.

In addition to his research, Richmond is passionate about the transformative role of technology in driving development in emerging economies. He recognizes how advancements like secure digital infrastructures, blockchain, and artificial intelligence have improved access to financial services, enhanced governance transparency, and promoted global trade participation in developing countries. These innovations address structural barriers by enabling scalable solutions in areas like financial inclusion, e-commerce, and education.

In January 2025, Richmond explored the impact of cryptography and information security on international trade and policy in his Learning Cluster with Dr. Sonwabile Mafunda. This program, with curated symposiums in the U.K. and the U.S., complements his work in macroeconomic stability and international relations. In his research, he analyzes the power dynamics between the West and emerging economies in integrating technological innovation to advance global equity.

Mai Le is an Economics student from Vietnam with a strong interest in international economics, trade dynamics, and how global policy decisions shape markets and business performance. Growing up between Vietnam, Japan, and the U.S. gave her a firsthand view of how deeply countries’ economic choices are interconnected. At Soka University, she applies her analytical training using different tols to study topics such as tariff impacts, financial risk, and industry competitiveness. She hopes to pursue a career at the intersection of global economics and business strategy, translating complex international events into clear, actionable insights for companies.

Shota Maeda is a sophomore student from Tokyo, Japan, pursuing International Studies at Soka University of America. Since high school, Shota has had a strong passion for peace and nuclear disarmament. As a Youth Communicator for a World without Nuclear Weapons appointed by the Japanese Government, he has engaged in disarmament activities, including developing an educational card game to learn about nuclear issues and serving as a panelist at a student conference on nonproliferation education. As a research assistant for Professor Alexander Harang, Shota also contributed to translating Daisaku Ikeda’s essay collection, Hope is a Decision, into Norwegian. His current research interests include “Nuclear Disarmament in the Pacific Basin” and “Daisaku Ikeda’s Peace Philosophy on Counterterrorism.”

Passionate about international studies, education, and community development, Kailash Pariyar thrives at the intersection of global engagement, research, and service. In addition, he is passionate about exploring nature, writing stories, and learning new languages. Currently pursuing an international studies degree with a focus on Spanish at Soka University of America, he is dedicated to leveraging education and policy to drive meaningful change, particularly in underserved communities.

Beyond his academic work, Kailash remains closely connected to his home community, co-founding a youth initiative known as BishramkoChautari(Station for reflection) and leading projects such as Project Illuminant, which empower marginalized students in rural Nepal through monthly essay writing and dialogue practice. He is not only focused on expanding his professional experience in education, policy, and global development but also open to collaboration and discussion on research, community empowerment, and innovative solutions for global challenges—Feel free to connect!

Emma Finch is a sophomore student concentrating on International Studies. Growing up biracial between Los Angeles and Japan, she became particularly interested in the intersections and bridges between cultures. Her on-campus courses as well as an international learning cluster in South Korea, reflect her deep commitment to history preservation, human rights, and identity studies. Time abroad in Egypt and Turkey shifted her focus to Middle Eastern studies, and during her time at Soka University, she hopes to connect her background in East Asia with her new region of interest. Her specific points of study include the politicization of religion, documentary filmmaking, and cultural analysis. She speaks English, Japanese, and is currently studying Chinese at college.

Chihiro Imajo is an international student from Japan and a second-year undergraduate student at Soka University of America. She is concentrating in Social and Behavioral Sciences. Through her coursework in Cultural Anthropology and psychology, she has developed a strong interest in how culture and mind interact to shape empathy, cooperation, and cultural values that drive social progress across diverse societies. Her academic work explores how cultural values, memory, and social narratives influence behavior and decision-making. She has conducted ethnographic observations of campus cultural life and analyzed indigenous resistance movements across the Asia-Pacific region, examining how moral leadership, community identity, and collective meaning-making support peaceful and equitable forms of social change. From a psychological perspective, she is particularly interested in how empathy, moral judgment, and cooperative behavior emerge and contribute to social harmony.

Inspired by PBRC’s mission of peaceful and humanistic development in the Asia-Pacific region, she hopes to contribute to PBRC’s interdisciplinary work by integrating cultural and psychological insights to better understand how public policy and community well-being can be shaped through compassion, cultural humility, and cross-cultural understanding.

My name is Yumiko Kasai and I am a second-year student concentrating in Life Sciences. I was born in Japan and raised in Saipan, Guam, and Torrance, California. Growing up in the Mariana Islands, I witnessed firsthand the socioeconomic inequities and limited infrastructure that undermined people’s access to healthcare. This background drives me to advocate for vulnerable populations: especially, women. I am committed to using my unique liberal arts education for the better of humankind and to be able to deliver humanistic and empathetic healthcare in the future. I am excited and grateful for this opportunity to contribute to the PBRC’s mission by delving into how equitable healthcare can shape peaceful and humanistic development.

I am a Japanese, from Tohoku region. My hometown experienced great east Japan earthquake in 2011, which ignited my interest in natural disaster and nuclear power plants. Furthermore, SUA mission statement made me realized that natural disaster and nuclear power plants are problem for every country, especially Pacific Basin. Considering today’s energy crisis, using nuclear power plants are inevitable even there are many areas to improve for security and technologies. Therefore, the PBRC fellowship enables me to research on how to use nuclear power plant more stable and safety way, which contributes to humanistic development in Pacific Basin.

I am Miyuki Sase, a second-year student from Japan. I am passionate about social and developmental psychology and hope to contribute to peace and reconciliation in East Asia through a psychological lens. Based on this motivation, my main research interest is in forgiveness and apology within East Asia. I aim to analyze how historical narratives led by the government influence public attitudes and enhance negative emotions, preventing sincere reconciliation in the regions. Furthermore, my goal is to develop educational approaches for primary schools in Japan, China, South Korea, and North Korea to overcome these obstacles and foster reconciliation and peace in East Asia.