Jo Matsuzaki is a Japanese scholar and professor at Miyagi University of Education, specializing in special needs education and educational psychology, particularly focusing on deaf and multi-handicapped deaf children’s communication and sign language development.
Early Life and Personal Background
Matsuzaki was born with severe deafeness caused by his mother’s rubella infection during pregnancy. From an early age, he did not perceive his deafness itself as problematic, but he was painfully aware of the social "barriers" that hindered inclusive communication. Visually, he appeared able-bodied, which made others underestimate the psychological challenges of being deaf. This often led to feelings of isolation in interpersonal relations throughout his childhood[1].
University Years and Advocacy
Matsuzaki entered Miyagi University of Education to study special needs education. However, the university lacked adequate support systems for students with disabilities. Despite requesting assistance throughout his undergraduate years, he was denied accessibility provisions. To cope, he asked to borrow lecture notes and visited faculty offices to catch up — efforts that proved insufficient compared to what hearing students received[1].
Motivated to transform these circumstances, he founded a sign language circle in his second year and an educational issues research group in his third. These student-led groups laid the groundwork for the Information Support Association, formed with peers upon entering graduate school, which organized sign-language–aided interpreting and note-taking services. For the first time, Matsuzaki felt he truly understood lecture content—an emotional milestone. He recognized that hearing students had had the privilege of freely enjoying learning, a disparity that drove his determination to reform educational environments[1].
Academic Career and Research
Matsuzaki earned his Doctor of Education from Tohoku University[1]. He began his academic career at Miyagi University of Education as a lecturer in 2006, became an associate professor by 2015, and was appointed full professor at the Faculty of Education, Chair of Special Needs Education, from April 2022 onward[2].
His body of research—spanning educational psychology and special needs education—is closely intertwined with his personal mission. Matsuzaki received the Tohoku University Award for Contributions to University-wide Education in January 2013, and the Tohoku University President’s Prize for his doctoral dissertation in 2005.
Impact
Driven by his personal experience of educational exclusion, Matsuzaki’s work bridges lived experience and research. In a 2016 interview, he reflected that his long-standing sense of social alienation shaped his understanding of teaching as fundamentally about connecting with others. His choice to become a teacher at a teacher-training university stemmed from a desire to see more educators genuinely attuned to the feelings of children with disabilities[1].
- 東北大学新聞. (2016, July 28). 「働くこととは」⑯―宮城教育大学准教授 松﨑丈さん. 東北大学新聞.
- Japan Science and Technology Agency. (2025, Feb 17). Matsuzaki Jo — J-GLOBAL researcher profile. J-GLOBAL.
