• Director's Message

Director's Message

Leading and driving "Mountain Science" research in Japan, Asia, and on a worldwide scale

Shinshu is a region rich in nature, where people are surrounded by the grand mountain ranges that provide the backdrop to some of the most iconic views in Japan. Shinshu University's "Institute for Mountain Science" is one of the research bases within Shinshu University's Interdisciplinary Cluster for Cutting Edge Research. As the only such organization in Japan dedicated to "Mountain Science", the Institute has a unique research program.

Humanity now faces many evolving, global issues, which demand active responses. Besides evaluating the impacts of the environmental changes caused by human activities, we also conduct research on the prevention and mitigation of the disasters caused by such changes, and work towards the solution of regional problems as such the damage caused by birds and wildlife in hilly and mountainous areas, and the aging and disappearance of rural populations.

We endeavor to analyze and predict environmental changes in mountain ecosystems, using the data obtained from the long-term surveys and observations made by our institute and research field bases spread across the central mountainous region, which includes the wide variety of habitats and environments of the Japanese Alps, as well as lakes, ponds and marshes.

In addition, as the only university in Japan that owns research forests in the alpine zone, mainly of the central mountainous region, we aim to promote and optimize the use of such field facilities. We actively encourage domestic and overseas universities and research institutes to make use of these facilities, and to plan and promote collaborative research that is both global in its scope and original in design.

By targeting our research projects to address local and global issues we are able to provide valuable resources for the decision making needed to respond to these issues. Our research results are shared with local communities and/or local governments, and also disseminated both domestically and internationally. Through these activities, we have become leaders in the field of "Mountain Science", driving research forward both in Japan and overseas and creating the innovation that leads to social transformation, including the realization of the SDGs, in an era of environmental change.

Director of the Institute for Mountain Science, Shinshu University
TOJO Koji

tojo
Director of the Institute for Mountain Science
Academic Assembly Professor (Institute of Science) Ph. D. in Science
TOJO Koji
Career
  • 1994 Graduated from the University of Tsukuba with a bachelor's degree in Biology
  • 1999 Tsukuba University Graduate School Doctoral Program, Biological Sciences, Ph.D. (Science)
  • 1999 Assistant, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Tsukuba
  • 2002 Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) PD@Biological Resources Research Institute (Insect Science Research Institute, Tsukuba Univ.)
  • 2002 Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) PD@Biological Resources Research Institute (Insect Science Research Institute, Tsukuba Univ.)
  • 2004  Assistant, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Shinshu University (Assistant Professor in 2007)
  • 2004 Researcher, Institute of Mountain Science, Shinshu University Mountain Science Institute, Shinshu University (from 2012, ) Institute of Mountain Science)
  • 2011 Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Shinshu University (2012 Associate Professor, Institute of Science, School of Science and Technology)
  • 2012 Pre-Assistant Territories Researcher (part-time position) of Research Group for the Integration, Institute of Mountain Science, Shinshu University (from 2018, Research base for mountain science)
  • 2017- present Professor, Department of Science, Graduate School of Science, Shinshu University
  • 2023-present Director, Institute for Mountain Science, Interdisciplinary Cluster for Cutting Edge Research (ICCER)
Research Field
Evolutionary biology, Biodiversity/Systematics, Developmental biology
Research Theme
Investigation of the phylogeny, evolutionary history, and biogeography of insects, and the basis of insect morphogenesis and mechanisms of diversity creation.