Masahiko Minami

Masahiko Minami is a Professor of Japanese at San Francisco State University (SFSU) within the College of Liberal and Creative Arts, Department of Foreign Languages & Literatures. He holds a doctorate from Harvard University and has served as Invited Professor at Tokyo’s National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics (2012–2016). His research focuses on bilingual education, cross-cultural studies, and narrative/discourse analysis, with over 100 publications including major works like Handbook of Japanese Applied Linguistics (2016) and Telling Stories in Two Languages (2011).

Dr. Minami is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Japanese Linguistics, Associate Editor of Narrative Inquiry, and has held leadership roles in organizations like the Northern California Japanese Teachers’ Association and Phi Beta Kappa Society. He has received prestigious awards including the 2007 Teaching Excellence Laureate and Foreign Minister’s Commendation (2023).

His academic journey includes degrees from Kyoto University and Harvard, with extensive contributions to Japanese language pedagogy, sociolinguistics, and bilingual child development. Professional activities span editorial roles, international conferences, and advocacy for heritage language preservation.