Chihiro Thomson

Chihiro Thomson is a Professor of Japanese Studies at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in the School of Humanities and Languages. She holds a B.A. from Gakushuin University (Japan), M.Ed., and Ed.D. from Arizona State University (USA). Prior to UNSW, she lectured at the National University of Singapore. Since 1993, she has taught Japanese language courses and supervised postgraduate students in applied linguistics and pedagogy. She has held leadership roles, including Head of the Department of Japanese Studies (1999–2002) and Head of the School of Modern Language Studies (2003–2005).

Her research focuses on Japanese as a heritage/community language, learner autonomy, and sociocultural aspects of language learning. She founded the Australian Network for Japanese as Community Language and has authored/co-authored over 100 publications, including books, journal articles, and conference papers. Her awards include the Scientia Education Fellowship (2016–2020), multiple teaching excellence awards, and the Japanese Foreign Minister’s Commendation (2016).

Thomson is actively involved in professional organizations such as the Japanese Studies Association of Australia (president 2009–2011) and the Global Network of Japanese Language Education (Australian representative 2004–2017). She teaches undergraduate Japanese communication courses and supervises research on topics like language policies and teacher narratives in Australian schools.