■ Summary of past research

I studied social issues in the modern world from the perspective of food. Food includes not only the food and foodways, but also the interactions of people who make and consume it, the rules governing how to eat, and the systems of production, processing and distribution. Food culture is formed by mixing various factors such as the history of the country or area, interaction with different cultures, and political and social resources mobilized by ethnicities and nationalities. I have been studying food as a place where these social entangled elements. Based on socio-cultural theory and social research, I have examined the multiculturalization and differences in ethnic communities for the food of international immigrant and analyzed nationalism for food as a cultural heritage.

■ Direction of future research

In the future, while continuing to study comparative culture of food, I would like to clarify the problems of food and society from a multifaceted approach, for example, using quantitative data analysis of daily food choice and income and educational background. I have been studying food research disciplines with humanities and social science researchers. I am also interested in practical activities that link food and agriculture. I hope to develop interdisciplinary network to cooperate for the promotion of food research.