Experts
Program Director
Ken Aoo
Affiliation
West Asia and Islam Unit
West Asia and Islam Program
Social Innovation Program
Expertise/Areas of interest
Islamic society and culture/Social innovation/International exchange/Philanthropy
Languages
Japanese/English
Academic/Professional Background
Ken has a diverse professional background spanning finance, international NGOs, UNDP, philanthropic foundations, and academia. He managed international grantmaking programs and partnership development at the Toyota Foundation (2011–2016) and the Nippon Foundation (2016), before serving as Lecturer and later Associate Professor of Social Innovation at Okayama University (2018–2024). As a Senior Fellow at the Japan Foundation Center, he led the Asian Philanthropy Collaboration Promotion Program (2025–2026), commissioned by the Nippon Foundation, before joining the Sasakawa Peace Foundation in March 2026.
| 1998 | BA in International Relations, Liberal Arts Department, University of Tokyo |
| 2007 | MPhil in International Development, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex |
| 2019 | PhD (Social Science), International and Advanced Japanese Studies, Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Tsukuba |
Papers
| Paper | Date of Paper |
|---|---|
| How is Subjective Well-being Affected by Different Factors and Groups: Income threshold induces asymmetric effects (co-authored) | Mar, 2024 |
| The Role of Civil Society Sector in the Development of Art-Driven Regional Social Innovation: The Case of Benesse Art Site Naoshima and Art Setouchi | Dec, 2021 |
| Societal Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Asian Rural Societies: A multi-sectoral social capital approach in Thailand, Taiwan, and Japan (co-authored by Rado, I., Lu, M.-F., and Lin, I.-C.) | Mar, 2021 |
| Aging Society in Japan: A process of social innovation and the roles of civil society | Dec, 2017 |
Publications
| Publication | Publishing company | Date of Publication |
|---|---|---|
| The Role of Foundations in Japanese Society: A sharing with Asian colleagues | Japan Foundation Center | Feb, 2026 |
| Social Innovation: How societies find the power to change (Translation: Original author Mulgan, G.) | Minerva Shobo | Oct, 2022 |
| Social Innovation Scaling Process in East Asia: Bridging the gaps between stakeholders | University Education Press | May, 2019 |
As of April 1, 2026