Mr. Sometaya earned his B.A. in Urban Sociology from Hitotsubashi University. Most recently, he served as a Staff Writer in the Osaka Headquarters of Asahi Shimbun. He has also served in the Kobe and Tottori Bureaus. His articles have covered Toru Hashimoto, Mayor of Osaka City and leader of the Japan Restoration Party; a wide range of news in Osaka, Kobe, and Tottori, including crimes, local schools, child abuse, and tourism; and local and national elections. Mr. Sometaya's research at Harvard will examine the relationship between media and political leadership in Japan and the U.S.