A prolific writer, he has published more than 20 papers in refereed journals. These papers document his research work on rice genotypes, physiology, crop management, and themes related to drought, flood, and saline areas.

He finished his doctoral degree in 2007 at the University of Tokyo studying the genotypic differences of drought resistance traits for upland rice. For this he became one of the awardees of the 13th Research Award for Young Scientists given by the Japanese Society of Crop Science in 2008.

In 2009, Yoichi made it to the list of the Young Scientist Achievers when he received the 8th Investigator Award given by the Foundation of Agricultural Sciences of Japan for his work on the development of water-saving technology in dry-seeded rice in Japan.

Currently, Yoichi works as Scientist ll at the Crop and Environmental Sciences Division of IRRI. He first joined IRRI as a visiting research fellow in 2011. Before coming to the Philippines, he taught at the Institute for Sustainable Agroecosystem Services, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Tokyo in Japan.

He now leads the IFAD project Improving Livelihoods and Overcoming Poverty in the Drought-Prone Lowlands of Southeast Asia.

Welcome to the CURE family, Yoichi!