Daiwa Scholars 2011

Helen Bentley

Helen Bentley completed an undergraduate degree in History at the University of Oxford in 2011. She visited Japan for two months in 2010 in order to undertake academic research and teach English to university and junior high school students in Hyogo Prefecture. She hopes to learn about Japanese business models and education systems so that she can write academic papers and aid the development of English language academies for Japanese students.

Helen’s homestay was in Okinawa. Her work placement while on the Scholarship was at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Bid Committee and she remained in Tokyo until 2021.

Following  her work as Vice President of Finsbury Tokyo, she worked as Director, Digital Strategy & Innovation at EY in Japan.

She is currently Partner, Digital Strategy, Innovation & Experience at EY Seren in London.

Dr James Brown

James Brown has a BA in Philosophy and Politics from the University of York, an MSc in International and European Politics from the University of Edinburgh and in 2011 completed a PhD in International Relations at the University of Aberdeen. He travelled to Japan in 2010 visiting Tokyo, Kyoto and Hiroshima and has been teaching himself basic Japanese. An in-depth knowledge of a non-European country would enhance his aim of pursuing a career in academia in the field of international relations.

James’s homestay in Japan was in Hokkaido. His work placement was at the Department of Global Politics, Hosei University. James is currently Assistant Professor in International Relations at Temple University, Japan in Tokyo.

You can read more about James in the “Scholar Experiences” section of the website.

He is the editor of The Abe Legacy: How Japan Has Been Shaped by Abe Shinzō.

Darren Craig

Darren Craig has a BA in English from the University of Cambridge and in 2011 completed a MPhil degree in Screen Media and Cultures at the same university. He is interested in Japanese cinema and aspires to complete a PhD on cinema and literature before pursuing a career in academia undertaking comparative study between Europe and the Far East.

Darren’s homestay in Japan was in Kobe City and Nishinomiya City in Hyogo Prefecture. His work placements were at the Center for the Study of World Civilizations (CSWC), Tokyo Institute of Technology; Organizing Committee for the Yokohama Triennale; 100MeterFilms; Yokohama Noh Theatre; Yokohama Nigiwai-za Theatre and Ningyo Jourui Bunraku Puppet Theatre. Darren is currently teaching at Japan College of Foreign Languages in Tokyo.

James Green

James Green has a BA in History from the University of Bristol and completed his Masters degree in American History at the University of Oxford in 2010. He visited Japan in 2008 and has a long-standing interest in Japanese culture and history. James has been studying Law since 2013. He recently finished his Bar studies at Lincoln’s Inn and in March 2015 won the 2015 One Essex Court/Times essay award on Magna Carta. The essay title of the competition open to law students was ‘Is Magna Carta more honoured in the breach?’

James’s homestay was in Shikoku. His work placement was at Asahi Shimbun International Editing Department. James began a pupillage at Littleton from September 2017, and joined the practice as a barrister in October 2019.

Shingirayi Tarirah

Shingirayi Tarirah completed a MEng degree in Engineering and Architecture at the University of Sheffield in 2011. She visited Japan on a two-week high school exchange trip in 2007 and has an interest in Japanese architecture. She aspires to a career in Architecture and Engineering on an international platform with a special interest in Asia.

Shingirayi’s homestay in Japan was in Okinawa. Her work placement was at Jun Sato Structural Engineering Office and Tokyo Carpentry College. She continued to work at Jun Sato Structural Engineering Office until 2020.

Dr Victoria Tuke

Victoria Tuke holds a BA, MA and PhD from the University of Warwick. Her doctoral thesis, submitted in 2011, focused on International Relations, specifically Japanese foreign policy. She has visited Japan on a number of occasions for research and hopes to follow a multi-dimensional career encompassing posts within government as well as within NGOs, think tanks and academia.

Victoria’s homestay in Japan was in Okinawa. Her work placement was at The Office of Mr Akihisa Nagashima (House of Representatives)and the  Tokyo Foundation.

Victoria was Head of Japan, Republic of Korea and Mongolia Team, East Asia Department, Asia Pacific Directorate, Foreign and Commonwealth Office until 2021. Since March 2021 she has been working at the Royal Household.

You can read more about Vicky in the “Scholar Experiences” section of the website.