Assistant Professor of Political Science, Yale University
I study comparative politics, with a focus on the politics of age and Japan. My work asks why young people are so rarely elected, what changes when they are, and how population aging reshapes democracy and policymaking. I combine quasi-experimental analysis of large original datasets with survey experiments, fieldwork, and interviews in Japan. Currently, I am completing a book manuscript, Silver Democracy: Youth Representation in an Aging Japan.
Why are young people underrepresented in elected office? And what changes for policy and democracy when they win?
About the book223,561 candidates in 21,111 mayoral and assembly elections across 2,027 municipalities, 2005–2025. Open data with an interactive map.
Explore JMED
My paper with Aksel Sundström and Daniel Stockemer, Youth Representation and Democratic Legitimacy, is now published in the British Journal of Political Science and is available open access.
Read moreI'm excited to share the dataset behind my book project: the Japanese Municipal Elections Dataset (JMED)!
Delighted to serve again on the selection committee for the U.S.-Japan Foundation Young Mayors of Japan Award alongside Governor Toshihito Kumagai and Lin Kobayashi.
Second piece of good news: my paper with Aksel Sundström and Daniel Stockemer, Youth Representation and Democratic Legitimacy, is now forthcoming at the British Journal…
Happy to share two pieces of good news. First, my job market paper, Does Youth Representation Matter for Social Spending?, is online at the Journal of Politics.