Shin-Ichi is a senior researcher in the Wildlife Management Section of the Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Japan. His research focuses on the phylogeography, ecology, and conservation of robins belonging to the genus Larvivora, the Ryukyu Robin (L. komadori) and Okinawa Robin (L. namiyei) of the Ryukyu Archipelago. Those robins often breed in tree-holes and nest-boxes, and the Varied Tit is a nest site competitor for the robins. As a result, Shin-Ichi has become the most experienced Varied Tit researcher in the southern part of its range.