Staff

KINYUA Laban Kithinji

KINYUA Laban Kithinji
Name KINYUA Laban Kithinji
Affiliation Visiting Researcher, African Studies Center - TUFS
E-mail labsgithinjitufs.ac.jp
Research Field Global Studies, Comparative Politics, International Development
Key Words Africa, Politics, Development, Globalisation, Youths
Research Interest My research curiosity and interests revolves around the questions as to why majority of African societies remains impoverished. Thus, I explore the livelihoods of rural sub-Saharan Africa through the lenses of politics to learn their coping and survival mechanisms. I am interested in how, particularly the young generation, rural Africans try to negotiate their livelihoods through an intersection and appropriation of local and global norms. My current project involves an exploration of engagement of the youths in rural Africa with the digital platforms namely social media and mobile money transactions.
Degree BA, Tokyo Christian University
MA, Sophia University
PhD, Sophia University
Professional Career 2017 - 2018 - Research Assistant, Graduate School of Global Studies, Sophia University.
2017 - 2019 - Adjunct Lecturer, Global Interdiscplinary Studies & Department of Global Politics, Hosei University.
2018 - 2021 - Research Fellow, Institute of Asian, African, and Middle Eastern Studies (IAAMES), Sophia University.
2019 - 2020 - Visiting Researcher, University of Embu.
2019 - 2021 - Post-Doctoral Fellow, Japan Society for Promotion of Sciences (JSPS), Hosei University.
Academic Associations Japan Association for African Studies (JAAS)
Japan Society for Afrasian Studies (JSAS)
Association for the Study of Worldwide African Diaspora (ASWAD)
Major Works

Papers

Presentations

  • Mapping Adoption and Usage of M-Pesa in Rural Kenya, the 56th Japan Association of African Studies Conference, Kyoto Seika University, Kyoto, May 2019.
  • Towards TICAD 7: Consolidating African Voices, TICAD 7 Seminar, Sophia University, Tokyo, December 2018.
  • The Politics of Aid and Decentralised State in Africa: An Evaluation of State Programmes in Kenya to Map Out Strategies for Implementing Donor Assistance Within the Confines of New Devolved Structures, the 2nd A-Asia New Axis of Knowledge Conference, University of Dar-es-Salaam, Dar-es-Salaam, September 2018.
  • Japan AID Regime and the New Devolved Governments in Kenya, the 55th Japan Association of African Studies Conference, Hokkaido University, Hokkaido, May 2018.
  • Relevancy of AID in a Globalising Africa: Encounters of AID Regime and Devolved Governments in Kenya, Graduate School of Global Studies Workshop Series, Sophia University, Tokyo, December 2017.
  • Historicizing Grassroots Political Contestation: Politics of Toponymy, Ethnic Construct, and Decentralization Efforts in Embu County, The 7th Annual AISA International Interdisciplinary Conference, Multimedia University, Nairobi, Kenya, July 2017.
  • Japan Discourse on Africa Development: Local Perceptions of TICAD Concept of Mutuality, 10th Decolonizing the Spirit Conference, University of Embu, Embu, Kenya, July 2016.