1. Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures
  2. School of Languages, Cultures and Societies
  3. Research and innovation
  4. Languages
  5. Japanese
  6. Our research

Our research

IDEA our research

We draw on a variety of research methods and approaches in our research with staff are actively involved in research on a range of interdisciplinary projects which broadly speaking can be subdivided into the following key areas: 

  • Language, Literature and Translation 
  • International Relations and Development 
  • Cultures and Societies in Japan

Our particular research strengths include international relations; Sino-Japanese reconciliation; history and citizenship education in China and Japan; diplomacy; foreign policy and security; development; Japan’s ODA to Africa; social marginalisation and discrimination in contemporary society; social movements; the literary and visual cultures of Japanese modernity and their politics, especially during the interwar years; Japanese film; gender and sexuality; the body and the senses; critical theory; pedagogy and e-learning.

Impact and engagement

Engaging directly with people who will benefit from our research and findings is important to our team in Japanese Studies, and wider within East Asian Studies. In addition to demonstrating academic advances which are of direct benefit to others within the academic community, ensuring that we engage with (and bring benefits to) the world outside of academia is crucial to what we do.

Our ‘impact' takes on a variety of forms including working alongside policy-makers and think tanks; working with media outlets; providing online forums to disseminate findings and to facilitate links between different individuals and groups; supporting the development of community networks etc. These activities not only help us to embed our work more widely into public life but also enrich our work further by enabling us to recognise and respond to the wider public’s views.

Research projects

‘The Senses and the Meanings of Modernity in East Asia’ LCS SRDF and Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation (2018)

“Spectacular Subjects: Modernism, Gender and Visuality in Interwar Japan” Leverhulme Research Fellowship (2019)

Previous funding still impacting on research interests: 

White Rose East Asia Centre (WREAC) WREAC was a partnership between the University of Leeds and the University of Sheffield to promote postgraduate training, research collaboration and knowledge exchange in the study of Japan, China and neighbouring regions.
Established in 2006 with funding from the Economic and Social Research Council, the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the Higher Education Funding Council for England, WREAC brought together staff and students from East Asian Studies (EAS) at the University of Leeds and the School of East Asian Studies (SEAS) at the University of Sheffield. Although no longer funded the collaborative working and cooperation continues between our centres. 
Sino-Japanese Relations Research Network (Alumni Fund 2010-2012, then WREAC funded 2012-2014)

Academic team