Fumiya Uchikoshi

Thank you Tamkinat! Hope all is well with you!

<em>Population and Development Review</em> | Population Council Journal | Wiley Online Library In this study, we propose and evaluate a new framework for understanding “lowest-low” fertility in East Asia, emphasizing the link between the desire for children and marriage. Recognizing that delay....

My job market paper has finally found a home. In this paper, we examine the role of fertility desires as a new explanation for the decline in marriage in East Asia, where parenthood is an integral component of normative family expectations.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

From Fumiya Uchikoshi, Ryota Mugiyama, Shohei Yoda, and James M. Raymo - forthcoming in Population and Development Review

Why has South Korea’s fertility rate dropped below Japan’s? An exploratory study of youth labor market challenges and family formation Japan and South Korea experienced a rapid decline in total fertility rates (TFR) until the early 2000s; however, over the past two decades, the two countries have exhibited markedly different trend...

Korea’s fertility rate is now lower than Japan’s—but why? Our new paper explores how youth labor market challenges, especially male economic inactivity, help explain Korea’s steeper fertility decline.
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Next Monday, Nov. 17, 12-1 pm: Join us to discuss Fumiya Uchikoshi's @ufsoc.bsky.social research, "Navigating Uncertainty: Gendered Aspiration, Meritocracy, and Imagined Futures in Japanese Selective College Admission," moderated by Xiang Zhou. In-person & online: shorturl.at/IIVmI

My talk at the Harvard US-Japan program next month!

Navigating Uncertainty: Gendered Aspiration, Meritocracy, and Imagined Futures in Japanese Selective College Admission | Weatherhead us-japan.wcfia.harvard.edu/event/naviga...

I hadn’t really thought about a book project before, but the current intellectual environment changed my mind. I just completed a proposal and have started sending it to potential discussants. It still feels so unreal.

Sometimes your co-authors are more critical than reviewers (in a good sense)

Excited to be visiting Vancouver tomorrow! I’ll be sharing my book project ideas at the UBC Japan Centre Seminar Series
sppga.ubc.ca/events/event...

Collage of new Academy Scholars affiliate headshots set against a coral background with the program logo.

Meet the 2025–2026 Academy Scholars! Most will be working on transforming their dissertation into a book manuscript or series of articles, while some will be embarking on new writing. Learn more about them and The Harvard Academy at: https://loom.ly/jgRd-yA

The Harvard Academy is now accepting applications for next year’s Academy Scholars Program. The deadline is September 19. Please consider applying! academy.wcfia.harvard.edu/programs/aca...

It was such an honor to organize two sessions on Asia at ASA 2025 (Demography and inequality in East Asia and Inequality and diversity among Asian Americans). I was especially pleased that both sessions were very well attended!

Thanks!

Submitted my first job application of the year.

Ah yes, I'm officially on the job market...

Thrilled to share that my paper on nonmarital childbearing and family structure among Asian Americans, co-authored with Airan Liu, has been conditionally accepted at RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences

Also, those who expect higher returns to college for men are also more likely to favor sons’ applications. This study was conducted in collaboration with Professors Yoshikuni Ono and Hirofumi Miwa.

Despite a narrowing gender gap in college attendance, women in Japan remain less likely to apply to selective schools. A survey experiment shows that while respondents support selective applications equally across genders, daughters’ choices are rated more favorably when aligned with gender norms

Gendered Expectations for College Applications: Experimental Evidence from a Gender Inegalitarian Education Context - Research in Higher Education In Japan, the gender gap in attendance at 4-year universities is narrowing, yet significantly fewer women apply to selective colleges. A growing body of literature suggests that gendered expectations ...

This paper, published in Research in Higher Education, examines how gendered expectations and stereotypes contribute to persistent gender disparities in selective college applications in Japan. link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Thanks!

I'm joining the World Elite Database, a cross-national comparison of economic elites, as a Japan team cordinator!

Paper acceptance from Journal of Asian Studies and Research in Higher Education!

graphic of a man and a woman each in front of a ladder. The woman's ladder is missing some steps.

New on Epicenter: On the first day he noticed so few women at his university. Fumiya Uchikoshi set out on a scholarly pursuit to find out why. Read about his investigation of the gender gap at elite Japanese universities. loom.ly/Nq0I5Uo
@ufsoc.bsky.social

High Risk, No Reward: Unpacking Gender Disparities at Japanese Universities | Epicenter A researcher investigates the reasons behind low numbers of women at elite Japanese universities, and looks at the high-stakes national entrance exam as a possible culprit.

Epicenter (Harvard Weatherhead Center's online magazine) features my ongoing work on gender gap in selective college attendance in Japan. Many thanks to Michelle Nicholasen for making this happen and Jessica Barnard for interviewing me epicenter.wcfia.harvard.edu/news/2025/04...

I'm presenting my working paper on the role of college education in social origin homogamy at RC28 UCLA!

Looking forward to PAA! My team and I are presenting five papers in total, covering a range of topics on family demography and social stratification including low fertility in East Asia, married women's employment in Japan, and social origin homogamy in the US.

My East Asia low fertility paper has been accepted to ASA Asia/Asian American section session!

got two R&Rs from the same journal lol

I would like to thank my excellent collaborators - Jolene Tan, Qi Cui, Kohei Toyonaga, and Erika Teramoto!

For the paper published in RSSM, we examined the extent to which the increase in vocational education programs initiated by less selective private universities contributes to gender segregation in higher education in Japan. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

The increasing importance of changes in nuptiality: policy mismatch and fertility decline in low-fertility Asian societies Despite the strong relationship between marriage and childbearing in Asian societies, policies addressing “lowest-low” fertility have often prioritized parity progression within married couples whi...

I have published two papers this month. For the paper published in CSR, we discussed the policy mismatch in low-fertility Asia (South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Singapore) and estimated the increasingly salient role of marriage formation in declining fertility
www.tandfonline.com/eprint/FQ44S...