Staff profile

I am a member of the BA Japanese Studies programme at Durham University, where I convene Japanese Language 1B and 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 also serve as the Year Abroad Coordinator, offering guidance and support to students preparing for their academic exchange in Japan. I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

My first degree was in Linguistics at 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 at the University of Sheffield (2020), and as a postdoctoral research associate at the School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences at Newcastle University (2021).

My research explores the intersection of linguistics and health communication. I examine discourses in patient–doctor interactions, patient narratives, public health messaging, media representations of autism and learning disabilities, and the literary portrayal of health and illness. My work is grounded in discourse analysis, interactional sociolinguistics and ethnographic methods, employing qualitative approaches. I have collaborated with health and social care professionals in both 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 (pp. 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 (pp. 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). A discourse-pragmatic analysis of shared decision-making in physician consultations with older patients [Conference 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). Communicating with older patients in Japan: The role of physician and family in medical decision-making [Conference 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

• 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 and Validating the Japanese Version of the Tolerance for Ambiguity Scale
  
  Fujikawa, H., Ando, T., Kondo, K., & Hayashi, M. (2025). Translating and Validating the Japanese Version of the Tolerance for Ambiguity Scale. Medical Science Educator, 35, 969–976. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-024-02269-5
• 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. Papers in Language and Communication Studies, 2(3).

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). Exploring Older Patient-Physician Interaction and Patient-Centredness in Japan [Conference paper]. Presented at The 8th International and Interdisciplinary Conference on Applied Linguistics and Professional Practice (ALAPP), Cardiff University, Wales, UK.