Professor Sonoda “worked with” 287 undergraduate/postgraduate students in his seminar during his 15 years’ service for Chuo University and 63 postgraduate students in his seminar during his 4 years’ service for Waseda University. During his 34 years’ service as a university professor, he became a member of Ph.D. thesis committee 38 times, excluding two occasions as an external examiner in Hong Kong. Up to now, eight people obtained their Ph.D. degree under Prof. Sonoda’s supervision. Now Prof. Sonoda stopped accepting students as his advisees.
1) Dr. FANG, Minghao 方 明豪 (2005 at Chuo University, now teaching at Dalian University of Technology as associate professor, China)
Dissertation Title:” An Analysis of Changing Identities of Korean Chinese: Through Interviews with Younger Generation in Beijing City” (Japanese)
Speciality: Korean Migration, Media Studies
2) Dr. FROESE, Fabian, Jintae (2009 at Waseda University, now teaching at Georg-August-Universität Göttingen as chair professor, Germany)
Disssertation Title: “Convergence of Work Values in Tokyo, Seoul, and Shanghai?: Cross-country and Intergenerational Comparisions“
Specialty: Human Resource Management, Cross-cultural Management.
3) Dr. KISHI, Yasuyuki 岸 保行 (2009 at Waseda University, now teaching at University of Niigata as associate professor, Japan)
Dissertation Title: “Formation of ‘Cultural Competence’ in Japanese Manufacturing Companies in Taiwan: A Study of ‘Cultual Mediation’ by Long-service Local Employees” (Japanese)
Specialty: Human Resource Management, Comparative Sociology.
4) Dr. Dilnoza MIRDJALILOVA (2019 at the University of Tokyo, now working at Rakuten)
Dissertation Title “The Social Consequences of Alphabet Reform: Post-coloniality and the Language Policies in Post-Soviet Uzbekistan”
Specialty: Language Policy, Central Asian Studies
5) Dr. KIM Jiyoon (2020 at the University of Tokyo, now working as assitant professor at Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, University of Tokyo)
Dissertation Title: “Encountering Freedom of Travel: A Social History of Global Imagination and Governmentality in South Korea in the (post-) Cold War Conjuncture of the 1980s”
6) Dr. SU Xiaochen (2021 at the University of Tokyo, now working at Blackpeak Group, Japan)
Dissertation Title: “The Emergence of a Parallel Society: Measuring the Lack of Social Integration among Chinese Migrants in the Russian Far East”
7) Dr. VILLOTA Alleson II Deccena (2024 at the University of Tokyo, now working at Watanabe Academy)
Disserattion Title: “From Connected to Networked Migrants: Mediated Experiences, User-Created Content, and Virtual Networks of Filipino Temporary Migrant Worker-Vloggers in Japan”
8) Dr. BAO Lige (2024 at the University of Tokyo, now teaching at Xi’an Eurasia University)
Dissertation Title: ” Cultivating ‘Ideal’ Children: Individuality, Parenting, and Changing Educational Narratives in China’s Alternative Education Movement”
The following are the graduates of Prof. Sonoda’s Zemi at the University of Tokyo.
1) Ms.GONG, Xiaoyun 龚 暁云 (2008-10, MA/ China) Thesis Title:”Emerging Shangzai Online Video in China: An Analysis of Its Characteristics and Functions”
2) Ms. AMANO, Yuki 天野 友貴（2009-12, MA/ Japan） Thesis Title:”Search for Storytelling in the Traditional Craft Industries: A Case Study of Mage-wappa Producer Kurikyu”
3) Ms. CHEN, Xuelu 陈 雪璐（2011-13, MA/ China） Thesis Title “Contesting Shanghai Gay Space: Identity, Consumption, and Cosmopolitanism in Post-Reform China” (Best Thesis Award)
4) Mr. CHEN, Yi 陳 沂（2013-15, MA/ Canada） Thesis Title “Effects of Exposure to Globalization on Chinese Consumer Attitude towards Japanese Products”
5) Mr. Thomas GREGG Sono (2014-16, MA/ USA) Thesis Title “The Penumbral Space: The Paradox of Cross-Cultural Interpenetration in Japanese Firms”
6) Ms. CAI Xiaojun 蔡 小珺(2014-16, MA/ China) Thesis Title “Time Versus Money: Household Bargaining and Upstream Intergenerational Transfers in China” (Best Thesis Award)
7) Ms. LU Yuxi 魯 昱熙(2014-16, MA/ China) Thesis Title “Online Nationalism and Fandom: A Case Study of Anti-Taiwan Independence on Social Media”
8) Ms. AN Qi 安 琪(2014-16, MA/ China) Thesis Title “1937-1941 The Propaganda of KMT towards the Mass People in the U.S. Via Time and Life Magazines”
9) Ms. LI Yanfei 李 燕飞 (2014-16, MA/ China) Thesis Title “Young Lady in Old Dress: Hanfu Consumption and Self-identity Building of Young Chinese Women”
10) Ms. CHUANG Ching 荘 静 (2015-17, MA/ Taiwan) Thesis Title “Fragmentation of Codes in Fujoshi on Twitter: A Research on Tweeting Patterns and Leaning Process of Fujoshi Online”
11) Ms. SHI Yiwen 施 奕文(2015-2018, MA/ China) Thesis Title “Fertility Desire for the Second-child: A Research on Determinants of Fertility Desire for the Second-child in Shanghai”
12) Ms. Anna Camille Vicedo FLORES (2016-2018, MA/ Philippines) Thesis Title “Comics as Jeepney: An Analysis of the Continuous Negotiations of Identity in Postcolonial Philippines”
13) Ms. LI Qili 李 祺莉 (2016-2018, MA/ China) Thesis Title “Running Trajectory Analysis Using Fitness Tracking Data for Planning of the Runner Service Facilities”
14) Ms. WANG Jiangxue 王 江雪(2016-2019, MA/ China) Thesis Title “Old Devil and New Cage: A Historical Account of Internet Addiction Treatment Facilities in China”
15) Ms. ZHAO Shiliu 赵 施柳 (2017-2019, MA/ China) Thesis Title “Yelling for What: Understanding Motivations of Audience’s Donation Behavior in Japan’s Online Video-game Live Streaming”
16) Ms. YE Yingzi 叶 英子(2017-2019, MA/ China) Thesis Title “Same Term, Different Connotations: How ‘NEET’ Is Perceived Differently by Scholars and NEETs in China”
17) Mr. Philipp GILSON (2017-2019, MA/ Germany) Thesis Title “Are WHO Media Guidelines for Responsible Suicide Reporting Effective in Japan?: Analyzing Seven Cases of Youth Suicide Reports in Three Major Japanese Newspapers”
18) Ms. Jiaxin ZHENG 郑 嘉馨(2017-2019, MA/ China) Thesis Title “Re-Imagining Identity in Hong Kong: The Construction of ‘Hong Kong Nation’”
19) Ms. LUONG Nguyet Anh (2018-2020, MA/ Vietnam) Thesis Title “Aligning Triple Helix Framework with Vietnam Context: Evidences from Artificial Intelligence Innovation Dialogues”
20) Ms. ZHAO Xinshu, 赵 辛舒 (2018-2020, MA/ China) Thesis Title “Mysterious Taste: Tracing the Prestige of Chinese Hairy Crab”
21) Mr. CHUANG Chia-Li 荘 家立 (2018-2020, MA/ Taiwan) Thesis Title “Constructing the Past: Rising Taiwanese Identity in the Discourse on Archaeological Heritage (1982-2018)”
22) Ms. GU Yu 顧 羽（2020-2022, MA/ China） Thesis Title “Changing Patterns of Political Trust in the Wuhan Lockdown: An Analysis of 15 Interview Cases of Young Adults”
23) Ms. CHEN Yuwei 陳 雨薇 (2021-2022, MA/ China) Thesis Title “Mediated Temporalities and Reflective Intergenerational Solidarity: Tracing the Gendered Childcaring Life Course of Chinese Migrants in Japan”
24) Ms. XING Yimin 邢 逸旻（2022-2023, MA/China) Thesis Title “Creating Ad Hoc Solidarity: Understanding Online Women’s Movements in Contemporary China”
The following are the students who are doing researches under Prof. Sonoda’s supervision.
Ph.D. Students
Yi-ren LIN, Mr. (Taiwan)
LIN Yi-Ren was a PhD student at the ITASIA program and is currently serving as project assistant professor for IHS program. His work focuses on the culture and social interactions among Internet users, and he is also interested in social thoughts, especially Durkheim’s work. The topic of his PhD thesis is about Taiwanese “villagers” （「鄉民」）, which may be viewed as an Internet-based cultural identity. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in economics, National Taiwan University (Taiwan), and a master’s degree in sociology, National Chengchi University (Taiwan).
George Zachary GONZALES, Mr. (USA)
George Zachary Gonzales is a fourth-year PhD student in University of Tokyo’s ITASIA program. His research concerns transformations in global capitalism, particularly as they relate to emotion and conceptions of self, from the late 1960s to the contemporary moment. Focusing on Japan, he utilizes oral histories to elucidate people’s lived experiences of events tied to the consolidation of late capitalism in the 1970s. He earned his BA in History at Pomona College and MAs in History and Interdisciplinary Information Studies at University of California, Santa Cruz and University of Tokyo, respectively.
Anh Nguyet LUONG, Ms. (Vietnam)
Luong is a third year PhD student of ITASIA program from which she also obtained her MA degree. She is currently pursuing the research topic of Vietnamese higher education sector’s commercialization process and its role in the national innovation system.
ZHAO Xinshu (Alona), Ms. (China)
Alona is a doctoral student at the Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies, University of Tokyo. Her research interests include cultural food studies, sustainable consumption, and migration in Northeast Asia since the late nineteenth century. Based on fieldwork conducted in Tokyo, her recent research focuses on Chinese migrants’ economic practices aided by communication technology and their implications on social networks and migrant identities. Alona is also interested in applying digital methods in her research, particularly critical cartography and GIS. Before she joined the ITASIA program, she had worked in the higher education sector in China for five years.
Master Students
TAN Ting, Ms. (China: Peking University)
DULAN, Ms. (China: Hosei University)
SHI Yimin, Ms. (China: Tsinghua University)
LI Kexuan, Ms. (China: Shandong University)
