My research focuses on the internal structure of proton and short-lived exotic nuclei by electron scattering.
Electron scattering is the gold standard for probing nuclear structures, consistently playing an essential role in revealing the internal structures of atomic nuclei and in establishing modern pictures of their structures.
To date, its application, however, has been limited to stable nuclei only, leaving short-lived unstable nuclei not existing in nature unexplored. These nuclei, characterized by a significant imbalance in the number of protons and neutrons and thus short-lived for beta decay, have revealed numerous peculiar internal structures thus far unseen in stable nuclei.

I spent two years in Germany in the early 1990s as a Humboldt Foundation Fellow. I had my first experience with electron scattering at Mainz University, utilizing an 850-MeV electron accelerator that had just been completed and was the most advanced in the world at that time.
I was so impressed by the powerfulness of electron scattering for nuclear structure studies, and this experience made me dream of applying electron scattering to study short-lived unstable nuclei. Despite its significance, such research was considered ‘impossible’ or ‘unrealistic’, since thick-enough targets of production-hard short-lived exotic nuclei for electron scattering experiments were thought to be totally impossible.
I was fortunate to collaborate with outstanding researchers who shared the same dream. Following nearly two decades of development, we have successfully achieved a ground-breaking milestone in 2023: the first electron scattering experiment on an online-produced radioactive isotope. We finally opened a door to a new research frontier in nuclear physics.

The most crucial driving force for groundbreaking science is PASSION, I believe. I would like to encourage you to devote yourself to such challenging research with passion if you have confidence that your idea is right.
From my very limited experience, I would like to leave a few words to help graduate students and young researchers find/encounter a research topic that may ignite your passion. First, study hard. Then, I would like to point out the importance of discussing with many people with an open mind and gaining their knowledge and experiences to broaden your horizons.
Finally, I hope that Tohoku University provides such an environment where young researchers continuously focus on truly unique and challenging researches.