Aoyama Waka
青山和佳

Waka Aoyama is a Professor at the Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia at the University of Tokyo. She was a Visiting Researcher at the Joint Ateneo Institute for Mindanao Economics at Ateneo de Davao University, Philippines, from 2018 to 2019. Her research interests include Davao/Mindanao Studies; Studies on the Sama-Bajau in the urban Philippines; and ecological thoughts and practices in Japan (Okinawa) and the Philippines (Mindanao). Her approach includes sociological and anthropological fieldwork with text readings. She has published several articles and books in English and Japanese including An Ethnography of Poverty: Socio-economic Life of Five Sama Families in Davao City, Philippines; and An Intimate Journey: Finding Myself Amongst the Sama-Bajau. She is a translator of the Japanese version of Anthony Reid’s A History of Southeast Asia: Critical Crossroads. Moreover, she is a recipient of several academic prizes such as the Ohira Masayoshi Memorial Prize, and the Japan Science Promotion Society Prize.