Daiwa Scholars in Japanese Studies 2026

The Daiwa Foundation is pleased to announce the selection of two new Daiwa Scholars in Japanese Studies for 2026.

Announcing the new scholars, Jason James, Director General of the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, said:

‘We selected two new Daiwa Scholars in Japanese Studies on Friday 6th March. One of them has already started her PhD at Bristol researching the different kinds of music used in anime films. The other begins at Kyoto next month and is looking at the community-building role played by mosques, which have been proliferating in Japan in recent years. Both of them underwent an intensive grilling about their research from our Managing Trustees, in both Japanese and English, and came through it with flying colours.’

You can see the Scholars’ profiles (at the time of selection) with photographs via this PDF below:

About the scholars

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Parkes

Lizzie completed a BA in Japanese Studies at the University of Sheffield in 2016, which included a year abroad at Akita International University, and an MA in Ethnomusicology in 2021, also at the University of Sheffield. Her MA dissertation was on Japanese-style music in TV anime adaptations of the Weekly Shōnen Jump manga. Lizzie’s interest in Japan stems from a love of animation which led to her encounter with the anime Natsume’s Book of Friends, piquing her curiosity about not only Japan’s visual identity, but also its sonic one. She had her first opportunity to learn Japanese at sixth form college. Lizzie began a PhD in Film and Television at the University of Bristol in 2025. She is studying the representation and implementation of musical cultures in anime soundtracks, and engaging in research about background music in TV anime and the range of musical cultures to be found in anime. In addition to her studies, Lizzie is a tutor of woodwind instruments, specialising in the oboe.

Nathan Turner

Nathan completed a BA in Japanese at the University of Sheffield in 2023, which included a year abroad at Kyoto University. In March 2026, he completed a Joint Master’s in Transcultural Studies at Kyoto and Heidelberg Universities. His MA thesis was an ethnography of the Kinki Region, focusing on the role of mosques in assisting the emplacement of Muslim migrants to Japan. Nathan began a PhD in Transcultural Studies at Kyoto University in April 2026 which will explore the importance of mosques as support networks for Muslim migrants in Japan. Despite a rapid surge in the Muslim population and number of mosques in Japan over the last few decades, scholarship on Muslim migration to Japan remains limited and in its nascent stage.