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Research Funded Projects

as PI / Co-PI

04/2025 → 03/2027
The 53rd (2024) Mitsubishi Foundation (Mitsubishi Zaidan)Grant Program for Large-Scale Collaborative Research in the Humanities，Large-Scale Collaborative Research Grant，The Mitsubishi Foundation (Mitsubishi Zaidan)
Project name:
Understanding Minority Languages and Communication through Artificial Intelligence Technologies
Top PI ：
Bono, M.
Awarded Amount:
7,500,000 JPY
01/2025 → 04/2027
British Council, International Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF),Category: Arts & Humanities & Humanities, Theme: Transformative technologies
Project name:
Capturing and representing sign languages for better communication,
Top PI ：
Zhidong Xiao, Bournemouth University (British side), Bono, M.(Japan Side)
05/2022 → 03/2025
MEXT Grant-in-Aid for Transformative Research Areas, Category (B)
Project name:
Understanding gesture and sign language in language interaction
Top PI

(Principal investigator):
Bono, M.
Number of teams:
5
Number of members:
3 (PIs), 19 (Co-PIs), 8 (Collaborators)
Project website:
https://research.nii.ac.jp/EmSemi/index_e.html
JSPS website:
https://www.jsps.go.jp/j-grantsinaid/39_transformative/index.html
05/2022 → 03/2025
MEXT Grant-in-Aid for Transformative Research Areas, Category (B)
Project name:
A02: Building a multimodal semiotics for icons and indices in sign languages.
PI :
Bono, M.
Co-PIs:
Harada, N., Fujikawa, N., Osugi, Y, & Sagara, K.
Awarded Amount:
35,230,000 JPY
05/2022 → 03/2025
MEXT Grant-in-Aid for Transformative Research Areas, Category (B)
Project name:
X00: Establishment of an academic community and network for the establishment of Embodied Semiotics
PI:
Bono, M.
Co-PIs:
Takanashi, K., Nakayama, H., & Kikuchi, K.
Awarded Amount:
14,820,000 JPY
04/2022 → 03/2025
JSPS Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research, Category (B)
Project name:
Understanding communication and comprehension mechanisms in finger Braille interactions.
PI:
Bono, M.
Co-PIs:
Fukushima, S., Sakaida, R., Makino, R., & Ochiai, K.
Awarded Amount:
17,290,000 JPY
12/2021 → 11/2024
JSPS International Joint Research Program（JRP-LEAD with UKRI）
Project name:
Understanding cross-signing phenomena in video conferencing situations during and post-COVID-19 in rural areas.
Japanese PI:
Bono, M.
UK PI:
Adam, R.
Awarded Amount (Japan):
28,491,450 JPY
Project website:
https://www.cross-sign.nii.ac.jp/
JSPS website:
https://www.jsps.go.jp/j-bottom/03_i_jyoukyou.html
04/2018 → 03/2021
JSPS Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research, Category (A)
Project name:
Recognition of sentence units in signed dialogue for the construction of a sign language translation system.
PI:
Bono, M.
Co-PIs:
Satoh, S., Baba, Y., Koiso, H., Kikuzawa, R., Osugi, Y., and Miyao, Y. Kikuchi, K., & Kusunoki, F.
Awarded Amount:
38,220,000 JPY
07/2017 → 03/2021
JSPS Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research, Category (B)
Project name:
Japanese language influences and multimodality in sign language, tactile sign language and finger Braille.
PI:
Bono, M.
Co-PIs:
Osugi, Y., Fukushima, S. & Den, Y.
Awarded Amount:
16,900,000 JPY
04/2016 → 03/2019
JSPS Fostering Joint International Research
Project name:
Proposal for a linguistic description method for sign language interaction analysis.
PI:
Bono, M.
Awarded Amount:
13,650,000 JPY
01/2016 → 12/2020
Australian Research Council (ARC)
Project name:
Talking through touch: adapting sign languages for use by Deafblind people.
PCI

(Primary Chief Investigator):
Willoughby, L.
CI

(Chief Investigator):
Iwasaki, S., Manns, H.
PI

(Partner Investigator):
Bono, M., McKee, D.
Awarded Amount:
A$220,000.00.
04/2015 → 03/2018
JSPS Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research, Category (B)
Project name:
Collective learning mechanisms of community through festival preparation.
PI:
Enomoto, M.
Co-PIs:
Den, Y., Hosoma, H., Bono, M., Teraoka, T. & Takanashi, K.
Awarded Amount:
845,000 JPY.
04/2015 → 03/2018
JSPS Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research, Category (C)
Project name:
Family practice in the age of information technology: clarifying the reality of intergenerational communication.
PI:
Sunakawa, C.
Co-PIs:
Hata, K., Bono, M. & Kikuchi, K.
Awarded Amount:
260,000 JPY.
04/2014 → 03/2017
JSPS Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists, Category (A)
Project name:
Proposal for a linguistic description method for sign language interaction analysis.
PI:
Bono, M.
Awarded Amount:
22,750,000 JPY.
04/2013 → 03/2016
JSPS Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research, Category (B)
Project name:
Documentation, preservation, and analysis of the Japanese Sign Language lexical system from the perspective of the Deaf community.
PI:
Osugi, Y.
Co-PIs:
Bono, M., Takei, W., & Kikusawa, R.
Amount distributed:
2,990,000 JPY.
04/2013 → 03/2016
JSPS Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
Project name:
Understanding and supporting science communicators' working practices as knowledge transfer interfaces.
PI:
Bono, M.
Co-PIs:
Ogata, H, & Takanashi, K.
Research collaborator:
Sumi, Y.
Awarded Amount:
3,770,000 JPY
04/2012 → 03/2015
JSPS Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research, Category B
Project name:
A cross-cultural exploration of gestures and signs as interactions.
PI:
Sugawara, K.
Co-PIs:
Kimura, D. Ishii, M., Hosoma, H., Omura, K., Iwatani, H., Kamei, N., Iwatani, A., & Bono, M.
Amount distributed:
1,326,000 JPY.
April 2011- March 2014
JSPS, Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research, Category B
Research Topic:
A Colloquial Corpus of Japanese Sign Language: The Growth of Linguistic Awareness between Deaf & Hearing
PI:
Bono, M.
Co-PI:
Osugi, Y., Kikuchi, K., Horiuchi,Y., & Harada, N.
Research collaborator:
Takanashi, K.
Research Assistants:
Sunada, T., Takashima, Y., Kamba, K., Taira, T., & Moriuchi, Y.
October 2009- March 2013
JST-PRESTO, research program: Information environment and humans
Research Topic:
Information for All: The construction of coordinated environments for Deaf and Hearing
PI:
Bono, M.
October 2009- March 2014
JSPS, Innovation for interdisciplinary approaches across humanities and social sciences
Research Topic:
Suggestions for telecommunication environment in Japanese Sign Language communities
PI:
Bono, M.
Co-Investigators:
Nakanishi, H., Arakawa, Y., Shirasawa, M., Kuroda, T., Kawano, S., & Naito, I.
June 2009 - March 2012
NII, Gr& Challenge
Research Topic:
A proposal for Coherent Data Collection of Ordinary Interactions
PI:
Bono, M.
Co-Investigators:
Furuyama, N., Itabashi, S., Osuga, T., Yamakawa, K., Kikuchi, H., Inoue, M., Takanashi, K., Den, Y., Enomoto, M., Hosoma, H., Hanada, R., Ichikawa, A., Ichikawa, K., & Koiso, K.
Aprir 2009 - March 2012
JSPS, Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research , Scientific Research Category C
Research Topic:
An Investigation of Integrated Relation and Sequential Relation of Utterance in Spoken Japanese and Japanese Sign Language.
PI:
Takanashi, K.
Co-PI:
Bono, M.
Co-Investigators:
Hosoma, H., Horiuchi,Y., Harada, N., & Kazuyuki Kanda
Research Assistant:
Joh, A.
Aprir 2009 - March 2012
NII, Grants for Collaborative Research Project
Research Topic:
A Study for Building Annotation Systems for Understanding Body Movements in Interaction
PI:
Bono, M.
Co-Investigators:
Hosoma, H., Takanashi, K., Sumi, Y., Horiuchi,Y., Nagashima, Y., & Furuyama, N.
April 2007 - March 2008
JSPS, Grant-in-Aid for Publication of Scientific Research Results
Research Topic:
A Study for Understanding Sequential Structures of Verbal-nonverbal Expression in Japanese Conversation.
PI:
Bono, M.
April 2007 - March 2009
Grants-in-Aid for JSPS Fellows
Research Topic:
A Study for Understanding Participation Structures in Multi-party Conversation.
PI:
Bono, M.
June 2006 - March 2007
Leadership Cultivation Program, The 21st Century Center of Excellence Program, Informatics Research Center for Development of Knowledge Society Infrastructure
Research Topic:
Participation Structure in Mediated Multi-Party Dialogues.
PI:
Bono, M.
April 2006- March 2009
JSPS: Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research, Scientific Research Category C
Research Topic:
An Investigation of Inter-Dependencies of Speech, Signed Languages, and Gestures in Utterance - A Multi-disciplinary Approach.
PI:
Bono, M.
Co-PIs:
Harada, N., Takanashi, K., Horiuchi,Y., Hosoma, H. & Kanda, K., Collaborator: Prof. Susan Fischer.
(* Bono has been stepped down from PI to a research collaborator in 2007 due to another grant from JSPS starting from April 2007)
April 2006- March 2009
JSPS, Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research, Scientific Research Category (B)
Research Topic:
Achievement of agreement: Turn-taking system in multi-party interactions
PI:
Katagiri, Y.
Co-PIs:
Iwasaki, M., Den, Y., Bono, M., & Takanashi, K.
Research collaborators:
Matsusaka, Y., Enomoto, M.
(* Bono has been stepped down from Co-PI to a research collaborator in 2007 due to another grant from JSPS starting from April 2007)

Research Collaborations

September 2000 – March 2001,
Participated in “Expressive Speech Processing” funded by CREST.
April 2003 – March 2006,
Participated in “Ultrahigh-speed Internet Network Society and Media Development” funded by NICT.
April 2004-March 2006,
Participated in “The Robot’s Ears” project funded by SCOPE, Strategic Information and Communications R&D Promotion Programme.
April 2006- present,
Participated in “i-Explosion: Interaction research project” (JSPS, Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research, A03 PI: Nishida, T.)
April 2008-March 2011,
Participated in “Research on creating a Sign Language Dictionary”(JSPS, Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research, Category A, PIs: Harada, D., Kimura, K., Ngashima, Y., Horiuchi,Y., Co-PI: Morimoto, K., Tanaka, H., Shirai, Y., Nishida, M., Takanashi, K., Hosoma, H., & Bono, M.)
April 2008 -,
Participated in “The Robot’s Ears” project funded by SCOPE, Strategic Information & Communications R&D Promotion Programme.
April 2009 - March 2012,
Participated in “Trust building: participation framework in conversation” (JSPS, Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research, PI: Katagiri, Y., Co-PI: Ishizaki, M., Enomoto, M., Research Collaborators: Takanashi, K., Matusaka, Y., Den, Y., & Bono, M.)