I received my medical degree from Sapporo Medical University, Sapporo, Japan, and subsequently attended graduate school. I was awarded Ph.D. degree with the thesis of “Studies on Lipid Metabolism in Articular Cartilage”. After I completed my residency in orthopedic surgery, I was appointed to the faculty in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Sapporo Medical University as the Chief of the Hip and Arthritis Surgery Services.

In 1996, I moved to Baltimore, Maryland for biomechanical research in the Orthopedic Biomechanics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University. After conducting biomechanical research, I received an appointment as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins University. Thereafter, I completed an orthopedic surgical fellowship at the Center for Joint Preservation and Replacement at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore in 2001.