I encountered research that utilizes language in forensics while studying in Australia.

 

What kind of things interested you when you were a student?

 

I always had an interest in overseas that stems back to my high school days. I had a vague desire to work overseas in the future, which is why I pursued the study of humanities at college by entering the Department of Education. I had an interest in language, so I joined a program to become an English language instructor in that department. This gave me an opportunity to study abroad during my enrollment, so I studied abroad in Canada for a year. There, I furthered my overseas studies, and my desire to link those studies to my future proceeded to become stronger. Then, after making my way to Australia in 1993, I made the switch to sciences, reacquired my degree, and have been pursuing research activities in Australia ever since.

While research on Japan is not my specialty, given Australia’s friendly stance towards Japan, not surprisingly, Japanese people are readily accepted to some degree. I do feel that being in a pro-Japan country where many people are interested in Japanese culture makes it easier to work and live.

 

Tell us about the circumstances that led to you to specialize in the field of forensics using language.

 

In Australia, the first areas I chose to specialize in were speech processing and speech signal processing. Forensics using speech involves recognizing who is speaking based on their “voiceprint,” a term that I imagine many people are familiar with. At that time, the lab at The Australian National University that I belonged to was a global mecca for research that applied phonetic research to the field of forensics. While that was a coincidental twist of fate, I found that area to be interesting, novel and highly practical, and therefore took an interest in it. In the end, I came to take that area on as my research specialization.

On aspect of linguistics as a field of research is that the extent to which it can be applied to benefit society in some way is unexpectedly limited. However, forensics can be put to use to help criminal investigations and catch bad people. I was drawn to being able to benefit and contribute to actual society. While my research methods may have shifted from humanities to sciences, my roots in the form of my interest in language has not changed, and remain consistent.

 

 

One passage was written by a criminal; the other by a suspect. How do we discern whether or not both were in fact written by the same person?

 

Tell us again what the current subject of your research is in layman’s terms.

 

While forensics is currently associated with DNA testing and so forth, my current research on forensics deals with “individuality seen in written Japanese language and text messages.” In other words, I research how linguistic and scientific evidence in written language can be used in the field of forensics. Up until now, the subject of my research in Australia was English text. However, since I am also engaged in research to solidify my methodology, I have to be able to apply the same methodologies in other language as well, not just English. With that in mind, I am pursing research on written Japanese language based on the idea that if it possible to apply the same methods in the Japanese language, which completely differs from English in terms of both taxonomy and linguistics, they could naturally be effectively applied in other languages that exist between English and Japanese.

Linguistic and scientific evidence in written language can be explained in the following simple terms. Let’s say that a criminal writes someone a threatening tweet or email, and that text written by the criminal exists. We may know that the criminal wrote that text, but not specifically who wrote it. Next, a suspect appears at the investigation stage. In searching the suspect’s home, text written by the suspect is found in a PC or elsewhere. Now, we have two passages: one written by the criminal and one written by the suspect. If the person who actually wrote both are one and the same person, that means the suspect is the criminal. If they are different, then the suspect and criminal are not the same. Naturally, the final decision on that matter is made by a judge or jury. However, it is our job to assist in that process. We are mainly engaged in the study of suitable ways of carefully reviewing text and presenting the results of that review.

 

There are various elements that form the individuality of written language. An example of one of those elements in Japanese is “、”, which functions as a comma. I recently learned from prior research that in fact, there are not really any rhetorical rules on where that punctuation should be inserted, and that points of insertion differ from individual to individual, meaning that individuality plays a part. The same can be said about people who use numerous words of Chinese origin in written Japanese, as well as those who use words of Japanese origin in ample amounts. Emojis are no exception either. Where some people invariably add smiley faces at the end of their messages, others do not. I research each one of those characteristics in a quantitative fashion.

 

Is there a specific reason why you changed the target of your research from speech to text?

 

Behind the reason why I started researching text in addition to speech is the global popularization of the Internet and the massive growth in the volume of text messages used in daily communication. Moreover, the use of those text messages is also abused in society. In fact, more and more text messages have been cited as evidence of crimes.

 

The fact is that where using text to perform testing based on the same methodology as DNA testing is concerned, I am still in the basic research stage even for English. Having studied testing based on speech up to this point, I can say that research based on speech is ahead by at least twenty years. That means research based on text is twenty years behind.

At the same time, and though I may be tooting my own horn here, I am the first person to demonstrate that it is possible to perform text testing using the same methodology as DNA testing. When I say the same methodology as DNA testing, I mean that the method used for text testing is highly reliable and has been substantiated. In terms of theory, this methodology is referred to as “The Correct Framework,” and is said to be the sole methodology that is both logically and legally correct.

 

From my perspective, this is the same methodology that I have applied up to this point, the only difference being that I shifted the subject from speech to text. I therefore do not feel like am really doing anything new. At the same time, because speech and text are completely different in nature, I occasionally experience some difficulties in that area. Additionally, since text tested pertains to intimidation, abuse and other crimes, I sometimes feel uneasy reading that material. While that research cannot necessarily be called “fun,” I do feel that it carries a high degree of social significance.

 

 

Right now, I am at the stage of “preparing the groundwork.” Once that foundation is in place, the future will open up considerably.

 

What compelled you to apply for the Fellowship? Can you share your thoughts on your research environment in Japan?

 

I felt compelled to apply for the Hakuhodo Foundation Fellowship when, in the course of doing my research in English, I started to feel that I needed to expand my research domain into languages other than English. The timing for the application was just perfect. Countless numbers of my colleagues at the university where I work have also received this grant, so I have been familiar with it for some time. Hence, I applied.

When I arrived in Japan, it was during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since my research tends to consist of me sitting in my room and staring at my computer, I haven’t been impacted by the virus much in that respect. However, in terms of network-building for research purposes and the gathering of data used in research, COVID-19 unsurprisingly makes some things difficult.

 

Where my research environment is concerned, the National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics (NINJAL) is home to numerous brilliant researchers. The facility itself is a solid one with a wealth of equipment and systems available for use. If any matter related to techniques or methods is unclear to me, researchers who tell me the answer right away if I ask them are right nearby. For this, I am extremely grateful. Even things those researchers do not have the answers to right away are disseminated down an unlimited number of chains to other researchers who may have the answer.

There are other researchers like me at NINJAL who are on hand as Fellowship Invitees as well as other guest researchers visiting Japan, which creates a lateral network as well. Professor Kaori Idemaru, the 16th Fellowship Invitee, can be found two offices over in NINJAL. We dine together and give each other advice on our respective research.

 

Tell us about your progress up to this point and where you currently stand in your research as a whole.

 

I commenced my research on September 1 and had continued it throughout the State of Emergency at my family home in Yamanashi Prefecture. Now, I am conducting it at NINJAL, my receiving facility. I regularly talk with Professor Kikuo Maekawa, who is charge of that facility, albeit mostly through online means. After the State of Emergency was lifted, I also met with researchers from the National Research Institute of Police Science whom I conducted joint research together with in the past. Going forward, I plan on discussing various things with them for the sake of future joint research as well. I also intend on pursuing communication for the creation of such research networks from here on out.

 

In terms of my research as a whole, I would say that at present, I am preparing the groundwork for my basic research in the truest sense. That entails doing whatever I can to gather together databases that might be useful from various sources, putting them in a usable form, and conducting further basic research. If I am able to show what the likely outcomes of that research will be, I will be able to conduct that research even if I bring it back to Australia.

Given that the text used will proceed to change along with the times, I am extremely interested in how a system for continually building new databases is best put together. Currently, with the existence of the scraping technique, data is culled in large amounts from websites on a regular basis. I therefore believe that the creation of such a system is technically possible.

Additionally, domestic corporations with Internet-based platforms such as online shopping malls also possess a wealth of written character information that is exchanged on those platforms. Recently, corporations have been increasingly opening up those kinds of databases for research purposes. I plan on making use of such data going forward.

 

 

I want to contribute to the world through forensics by engaging in joint research with various countries and developing young researchers.

 

How do you spend your days off and other time when you are not conducting research?

 

As my family home is in Yamanashi and I am here in Japan together with my family, I spend my days off together with them in a normal fashion. That includes tilling the fields, riding a tractor and cutting the grass in the countryside. Since my research involves staring at a PC nonstop, the time I spend on my days off atop a tractor staring at Mount Fuji and marveling at how gorgeous it is puts me at ease.

Up to now, I have spent each sabbatical, which comes every three to four years, in Japan together with my family. For that reason, my family is used to life in Japan as well. My three children, one elementary school student, one junior high school student and one high school student, all go to the same schools that I attended as a child.

 

In closing, tell us about your future research prospects and goals.

 

As I am really in the process of readying a foundation at present, all I need is for that to come together to make rapid advances in my joint research with other researchers using the networks that I have cultivated up to this point.

Furthermore, as people in legal circles and those engaged in forensics also remain unfamiliar with many aspects of such forensic research on written language, I intend to aggressively pursue enlightenment activities and other similarly-minded initiatives. In fact, various parties have already reached out to me with grateful offers. This time as well, before arriving in Japan, I even received a request from Japanese attorneys to do a lecture. When in Japan, I want to proactively communicate information to Japanese people.

 

Then, once the foundation for my research in in place, I will also be able to allocate various research subjects to students as well. I have been fortunate to experience an increase of students in my lab. I receive a myriad of inquiries, some by people seeking to attempt this methodology in Indonesian, others by people looking to do the same in Thai. I take in capable students from around the world. Alongside establishing my research methodology, I want to develop young researchers with the hope that they will become specialists in this field in their respective countries. My future goal is to contribute to society not just in Japan and Australia, but in the rest of the world as well.

 

(Interview conducted in November 2021)