Q

What was your favorite book as a child or a book that impressed you?

A

• The series of books of Dr. Dolittle. :
  I was insanely jealous that he could talk to animals.
• Treasure Island :
  I remember having a strong impression of Captain John Silver.
• Journey to the West :
  Like Treasure Island, I guess I like adventure stories.
• King Solomon's Ring (by Konrad Lorenz) :
  This is a great book that interested me in becoming a zoologist after being influenced by Dr.
  Dolittle. It was one of my dreams until I went to junior high school and met physics.

Q

What do you like about physics?

A

The practice of exploring and understanding the fundamental principles of nature. An attempt to answer the basic questions about nature.

Q

What is the driving force behind your research?

A

The desire to know what no-one else knew, to understand what nobody else could have understood.

Q

A message for middle and high school students

A

Find something that you can say, I'll bet my life on this. It doesn't matter what it is. If you think that if it doesn't work out, you can find another way, you will gain courage. It's more satisfying than regretting not to try.

Q

What was your favorite book as a child or a book that impressed you?

A

I like adventure fantasies such as Satoru Sato's The Tale of the Colobockle, Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, and Nahoko Uehashi's The Guardian series.

Q

What do you like about physics?

A

Doing physics is like an adventure in imagination. It will take you everywhere. Moreover, it is an adventure of the real world.

Q

What is the driving force behind your research?

A

Having the feeling of wanting to know more

Q

A message for middle and high school students

A

Find sometime to see what kind of things interest you naturally.Your interests are the most important factor in your life.

Q

What was your favorite book as a child or a book that impressed you?

A

Basically, I was not good at sitting down, and I hated books...
My parents say I used to read Chronological Scientific Tables, and I also played with Nikoli puzzle books.

Q

What do you like about physics?

A

The part that the results of the experiments are properly trusted without being overly concerned with the beauty of mathematics.

Q

What is the driving force behind your research?

A

It feels like my expectation of myself and others as hoping it will be a little more like this, but my expectation has been repeatedly betrayed in a good way (and sometimes in a bad way), and it turns out the result is more interesting than I had expected. It may not be limited to the research.

Q

A message for middle and high school students

A

Most of things are usually manageable, so just enjoy life for now. It is hard to find your own way to enjoy yourself later on.

Q

What was your favorite book as a child or a book that impressed you?

A

I loved "Picture Books of National Flags", that introduced various national flags.
I think I was curious to see all the different characteristics in a small flag.

Q

What do you like about physics?

A

I think it's a good culture where everyone can frankly share their opinions and enhance each other's knowledge on the common research subject of nature.
Also, there is nothing like the joy of thinking about a theory and being able to figure it out.

Q

What is the driving force behind your research?

A

It is how I can encounter ideas, knowledge, and values that I have never experienced before.

Q

A message for middle and high school students

A

I hope that you will cherish the feeling of why and achieve your own independence of thought.

Q

What was your favorite book as a child or a book that impressed you?

A

I passionately read “The solitaire mystery” by Jostein Gaarder in elementary school, which was my start to think about philosophy and the universe.

Q

What do you like about physics?

A

I always asked how things work and learned about biology and chemistry. But if you continue asking, you end up with physics, because it describes how the world fundamentally works. I like about physics that you would never stop learning.

Q

What is the driving force behind your research?

A

Investigating the unknown is my passion. It is my believe that ”impossible" only means that you haven’t found the solution yet.

Q

A message for middle and high school students

A

Science is not only for nerds. The earlier you realize that, the earlier you can make your dream come true.

Q

What was your favorite book as a child or a book that impressed you?

A

Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder, which I encountered in high school, is an important book that taught me the joy of
thinking things through. Also, Kenji Miyazawa's "Ginga Tetsudo no Yoru" and "Tentai Shikosho" by Taruho Inagaki
sparked my interest in the universe.

Q

What do you like about physics?

A

There are many things, but I like that I can discuss with researchers from all over the world in the language of
mathematics, and get answers that I would not have been able to get on my own.

Q

What is the driving force behind your research?

A

The joy of discovery when it is like, “Am I the first person on earth to notice this?” Ninety-nine times out of a hundred,
I am wrong, but I enjoy learning new things when I verify them.

Q

A message for middle and high school students

A

I think it is a good idea to try everything you are interested in until you are satisfied, no matter what form it takes.
I think the key to making it more enjoyable is to be aware of broad perspectives by discussing with various people
and not being self-centered.

Q

What was your favorite book as a child or a book that impressed you?

A

A Song of Ice and Fire

Q

What do you like about physics?

A

I’m a curious person. I want to know how things work and understand them!

Q

What is the driving force behind your research?

A

Solving difficult problems can be really fulfilling! And I like to teach the things I’ve learned to other people.

Q

A message for middle and high school students

A

If you’re interested in science, learning programming as early as possible will help you greatly.

Q

What was your favorite book as a child or a book that impressed you?

A

'October Sky' - an inspiring story about young high school students during the dawn of the Space Race.）

Q

What do you like about physics?

A

Many different kinds of people from different places are able to work together towards the goal of discovery and understanding.

Q

What is the driving force behind your research?

A

To keep pushing the boundaries of our knowledge and understanding.

Q

A message for middle and high school students

A

Do not become discouraged if you do not understand something, even Feynman was a student once.

Q

What was your favorite book as a child or a book that impressed you?

A

The Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix - where the early 20th century meets the mythical, and the young heroine saves the hero. It was fascinating for me the way the heroine used music and art to master life and death, alongside her funny furry companion.

Q

What do you like about physics?

A

Nature is full of exciting phenomena we have yet to describe, which keeps me curious. Just like a detective, I like how physics enables me to question, investigate (and occasionally discover the truth behind the fundamentals of our universe. To me, this is very fun and most fulfilling.

Q

What is the driving force behind your research?

A

I think what drives me is perhaps similar across many people in research: to discover the yet-to-be-discovered, to debate ideas and collaborate with great scientists and to explain what we observe in the Universe to the best of our ability.

Q

A message for middle and high school students

A

For you reading this, did you know nearly all of what makes you was once shining bright in a star or supernova? So remember to cherish and take care of yourself, never be shy to seek advice and support during challenges, and whatever your passion is, pursue your interests - and if it gets difficult, as a message of motivation - all you have to remember is to do your best. Best wishes!

Q

What was your favorite book as a child or a book that impressed you?

A

More than particular books, I recall often looking through a variety of pictorial books and encyclopedia.

Q

What do you like about physics?

A

I find it truly remarkable that the knowledge gained on Earth by humans, small beings within the whole Universe, can be applied to understand (to a certain extent) cosmic phenomena that occur on far larger scales and more extreme conditions.

Q

What is the driving force behind your research?

A

To boldly conceive, discover and unravel what no human has ever done before.

Q

A message for middle and high school students

A

Take time to find something to do that you can truly enjoy. Whatever you challenge at your own will, even unsuccessful results will serve as valuable lessons for the future.

Q

What was your favorite book as a child or a book that impressed you?

A

“Shinoda!” series by Yoko Tomiyasu and “Kosoado no Mori no Monogatari” series by Jun Okada. I was attracted to their daily life wth full of wonders.

Q

What do you like about physics?

A

Physics is a means of explaining our beautiful and mysterious world, even including phenomena happening far away in the Universe.

Q

What is the driving force behind your research?

A

Desire to know much more about the world we live in.

Q

A message for middle and high school students

A

Puruse whatever attracts you. If possible, also try to read books. It enriches your life.

Q

What was your favorite book as a child or a book that impressed you?

A

I used to read biographies of scientists. I also liked to read books on astronomy.

Q

What do you like about physics?

A

The ability to explain various phenomena based on basic principles.

Q

What is the driving force behind your research?

A

Astronomical phenomena are being discovered one after another. The joy of predicting a new phenomenon and then it is really observed..

Q

A message for middle and high school students

A

I believe that the ability to learn new things peaks when you are in middle school or high school.
Don't miss this period and study as hard as you can to reach the highest level.

Q

What was your favorite book as a child or a book that impressed you?

A

I used to get a magazine called Gakken Science. I remember reading an interesting book about the legend of the constellations by Hoh'ei Nojiri. When I was a schoolboy, I liked reading detective stories such as Sherlock Holmes. I don't remember reading any physics books as a child.

Q

What do you like about physics?

A

I like it because there are few fundamental laws.
(I teach physics but consider myself an astronomer.)

Q

What is the driving force behind your research?

A

The main thing is the fun of the problem considered. I feel joy when I find a simple law.

Q

What was your favorite book as a child or a book that impressed you?

A

A Brief History of Time

Q

What do you like about physics?

A

Where it shows unexpected behavior.

Q

What is the driving force behind your research?

A

My personality that likes new things, MONEY

Q

A message for middle and high school students

A

Enjoy the moment.

Q

What was your favorite book as a child or a book that impressed you?

A

Two Years' Vacation

Q

What do you like about physics?

A

Since we do not have to understand what humans have determined.

Q

What is the driving force behind your research?

A

The joy of discovering new things.

Q

A message for middle and high school students

A

The universe is still full of mysteries. I hope you will try to solve these mysteries in the future.