He received his AB in history from Harvard and his MA and PhD in political science from the University of California, Berkeley. During previous years of fieldwork in Japan he has been affiliated with Keio University, Hokkaido University, and the Otaru University of Commerce. His current research focuses on the political challenges posed by aging and shrinking populations. His most recent publication was a chapter on Japanese immigration policy in Routledge’s Handbook of Japanese Politics (Alisa Gaunder ed., 2011).