Asah Obata is a doctoral candidate in political science at Rice University in Houston, United States. Her research interest is the political participation and voting preferences of disabled persons. In her dissertation, she hopes to conduct this study in a cross-national framework, using a mixed methods approach of fieldwork and quantitative analysis. Besides her academic endeavors, Asahi has worked as a project manager at KYOTOGRPAHIE, an annual photography festival held in Kyoto. She completed her master's and bachelor's degrees in Japan and the United Kingdom, respectively.