Mao Shishido is an MPhil student in International Relations at the Department of Politics and International Relations, St Antony’s College. Her MPhil dissertation examines Japan's democratization during the US-led occupation (1945–1952) under the administration of the General Headquarters of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (GHQ/SCAP). Her archival research in Japan and the US is generously supported by four research grants awarded by funding bodies both within and outside Oxford.
Before joining Oxford, she earned a BA in Francophone Studies from Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, where she received the Best Dissertation Award for her research on the shift in French military intervention policy in Africa in the mid-1990s. During her undergraduate studies, she also spent a year at Sciences Po Paris, studying sociology, journalism, and politics in French. She has professional experience across various sectors, including governmental organizations, the United Nations, and humanitarian NPOs.
