Staff profile

I am a member of the BA Japanese Studies programme at Durham University, where I convene Japanese Language 1B, 1A/2B and co-teach Japanese Language 4, Critical Methods for the Study of Japanese Literature and History, and Specialised Translation (English to Japanese). I am also a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

My first degree was in Linguistics from Tokyo Woman’s Christian University, and I completed my MA and PhD in Applied Linguistics at the University of East Anglia. Before joining Durham University in 2021, I worked as a teaching associate in Japanese at the School of East Asian Studies, the University of Sheffield (2020), and as a postdoctoral research associate at the School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences, Newcastle University (2021).

My research focuses on the intersection between linguistics and health communication. I explore discourses on patient-doctor interactions, patient narratives, media representations of autism and learning disabilities, literary analysis of illness, and public health messaging. My work is grounded in discourse analysis, interactional sociolinguistics and ethnography, using qualitative methodologies. I have collaborated with health professionals and carers, working across Japan and the UK.

I am the author of Patient-centred Communication: Discourse of In-home Medical Consultations for Older Adults (Multilingual Matters, Language at Work series), a monograph that explores the dynamics of medical consultations in ageing populations. I am also the co-editor of Pandemic and Crisis Discourse: Communicating COVID-19 and Public Health Strategy (Bloomsbury). This volume addresses key challenges in crisis communication, ranging from addressing cross-national issues to fostering empathy.

I am currently working on my second monograph and co-editing the volumes Healthcare, Language and Inclusivity (Routledge). My ongoing research examines media and literary texts on autism and learning disabilities in Japan and the UK, with a focus on the role of inclusive language in shaping public understanding.

• Autism spectrum disorder
• Clinical empathy
• Clinical interviewing
• Dialogism
• Discourse analysis
• Japanese language for foreign nurses
• Learning disabilities
• Medical linguistics
• Patient-doctor interactions

Authored book

• Patient-centred Communication: Discourse of In-home Medical Consultations for Older Adults
  Kondo, K. (2022). Patient-centred Communication: Discourse of In-home Medical Consultations for Older Adults. Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/kondo5881

Chapter in book

• Language of Pandemic Discourses
  Vilar-Lluch, S., Kondo, K., & McClaughlin, E. (2024). Language of Pandemic Discourses. In Reference Module in Social Sciences (1-6). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-323-95504-1.00272-6
• Doctors' empathy and compassion in online health consultations during the Covid-19 pandemic in Japan
  Kondo, K. (2022). Doctors' empathy and compassion in online health consultations during the Covid-19 pandemic in Japan. In A. Musolff, R. Breeze, K. Kondo, & S. Vilar-Lluch (Eds.), Pandemic and Crisis Discourse: Communicating COVID-19 and Public Health Strategy (411-430). Bloomsbury. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350232730.ch-023

Conference Paper

• A discourse-pragmatic analysis of shared decision-making in physician consultations with older patients
  Kondo, K. (2020, December). A discourse-pragmatic analysis of shared decision-making in physician consultations with older patients. Paper presented at The 18th Communication, Medicine and Ethics Conference (COMET), Aalborg University, Denmark
• Communicating with older patients in Japan: The role of physician and family in medical decision-making
  Kondo, K. (2019, December). Communicating with older patients in Japan: The role of physician and family in medical decision-making. Paper presented at The 16th International Pragmatics Conference (IPrA), Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR

Edited book

• Pandemic and Crisis Discourse: Communicating COVID-19 and Public Health Strategy
  Musolff, A., Breeze, R., Kondo, K., & Vilar-Lluch, S. (Eds.). (2022). Pandemic and Crisis Discourse: Communicating COVID-19 and Public Health Strategy. Bloomsbury. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350232730

Journal Article

• Translating and Validating the Japanese Version of the Tolerance for Ambiguity Scale
  Fujikawa, H., Ando, T., Kondo, K., & Hayashi, M. (online). Translating and Validating the Japanese Version of the Tolerance for Ambiguity Scale. Medical Science Educator, https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-024-02269-5
• Development and psychometric properties of the Japanese version of the capacity for wonder scale
  Fujikawa, H., Ando, T., Kondo, K., & Hayashi, M. (2025). Development and psychometric properties of the Japanese version of the capacity for wonder scale. International journal of medical education, 16, 100-106. https://doi.org/10.5116/ijme.6819.fcae
• Translating, adapting, and validating the medical student version of the patient care ownership scale for use in Japan
  Fujikawa, H., Hayashi, M., Son, D., Kondo, K., & Eto, M. (2024). Translating, adapting, and validating the medical student version of the patient care ownership scale for use in Japan. BMC Medical Education, 24(1), Article 706. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05704-8
• Translation, adaptation, and validation of the Tolerance of Ambiguity in Medical Students and Doctors (TAMSAD) scale for use in Japan
  Fujikawa, H., Son, D., Hayashi, M., Kondo, K., & Eto, M. (2023). Translation, adaptation, and validation of the Tolerance of Ambiguity in Medical Students and Doctors (TAMSAD) scale for use in Japan. BMC Medical Education, 23, Article 405. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-023-04391-1
• Translating and validating a Japanese version of the instrument for patient assessment of medical professionalism (J-IPAMP): a cross-sectional survey
  Fujikawa, H., Son, D., Aoki, T., Kondo, K., Takemura, Y., Saito, M., Den, N., & Eto, M. (2022). Translating and validating a Japanese version of the instrument for patient assessment of medical professionalism (J-IPAMP): a cross-sectional survey. BMC Medical Education, 22, Article 641. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-022-03699-8
• Translating and validating a Japanese version of the Patient Care Ownership Scale: a multicenter cross-sectional study
  Fujikawa, H., Son, D., Kondo, K., Djulbegovic, M., Takemura, Y., & Eto, M. (2021). Translating and validating a Japanese version of the Patient Care Ownership Scale: a multicenter cross-sectional study. BMC Medical Education, 21, Article 415. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-021-02853-y
• Clinical empathy in medical consultations in Japan: An exploration of the medical education context
  Kondo, K. (2019). Clinical empathy in medical consultations in Japan: An exploration of the medical education context

Other (Digital/Visual Media)

• The 'Face' Notion and Patient-centred Communication
  Kondo, K. (2022). The 'Face' Notion and Patient-centred Communication. [Channel View Publications and Multilingual Matters' Blog, 1 September 2022]

Presentation

• Exploring Older Patient-Physician Interaction and Patient-Centredness in Japan
  Kondo, K. (2018, December). Exploring Older Patient-Physician Interaction and Patient-Centredness in Japan. Paper presented at The 8th International and Interdisciplinary Conference on Applied Linguistics and Professional Practice (ALAPP), Cardiff University, Wales, UK