Prof. Ian Neary

I have been working at Oxford university since 2004 before which I spent 15 years as a professor of Japanese Studies at the University of Essex. I have been based in the Nissan Institute of Japanese Studies where I acted as director between 2006-2012 and virtually all of my teaching is linked to the study of Japan, mainly its politics. In October 2011 I became head of SIAS.

My research has mainly been focused on Japanese political and social history in the twentieth century particularly the experience of Buraku communities in the process of industrialisation and modernisation. However I have also worked on industrial policy, in particular the pharmaceutical industry, on broader issues relating to human rights in East Asia and contemporary Japanese politics - I am currently revising my textbook on Japanese politics for publication some time in 2013.

I struggle to find time to do all the things in my spare time that I would like to do. We have a fair sized garden and, because it is shaded by some big trees, we also have an allotment located a couple of miles away where we grow vegetables – not many this year because of the cold and wet. I have also started to take part in triathlons – the ironically entitled ‘sprint’ triathlons not the ‘ironman’ – however this means I need to run, swim and ride my bike regularly. I have an ambition here to take part in the ‘standard’, Olympic distance event which is twice as far as the ‘sprint’ – perhaps next year. Then there is my membership of the Witney Music Society committee which organises classical music concerts. Not a great deal of time then for watching films or reading novels or going to concerts we do not organise though when I do find a moment or two I do this too.