Shinji is from Osaka, Japan where he is the Executive Director, of the Japan Stuttering Project. He established the first self-help group of persons who stutter in Japan in 1965. In addition to his duties as Executive Director of the Japan Stuttering Project he does private practice and teaches speech therapy at several universities and vocational schools. In 1986 he served as the Chairperson of the first International Conference on Stuttering in Kyoto. Later he was involved with the founding of the ISA as a member of the Board of Directors. He has also been organizing summer camps for children who stutter and their parents for 17 years. He has published more than 10 books on stuttering.
